Gundam SEED Fatale
by Lady Annora
Summary: This is a story set postGSD. There are a lot of old lovable characters, and new ones I've created to enhance the plot. Rated M for profanity and sexual content, no yaoi. New conflicts, new threats, and focused on Yzak. Discontinued.
1. Conflicts

Welcome to my first ever posted, and ongoing fanfic. I'll be writing this as much as my time permits me to. This is a story that takes place after GSD, with a few new characters I've made up. The main point of view for my story is Yzak Jule, as I always wanted them to make a third series centred around him. This is rated M, as there will be profanity and sexual content in it, nothing yaoi though. Sorry to disappoint, Dearka/Yzak fans.

**Obligatory Disclaimer**: I do not own Gundam SEED/Destiny, nor any of its characters. All original intellectual property is owned by Sunrise and its affiliates. All made-up characters are property of me, and I would prefer it that you contact me before using any of them in your fics, thank you.

All reviews are welcome, including constructive criticism. This is by no means my first fanfic, I've just never published any previous ones on the internet before.

**

* * *

-Gundam SEED Fatale-**

Screaming. He heard it in his dreams each night, the screams of dying civilians. Each time he slept meant another terrifying nightmare, another night of mental and emotional anguish. The guilt was unbearable. The things he had done in the name of his home now tormented him always. The faces of the friends he had lost, and the countless people he had killed filled his mind. Would he never be free of this pain?

Yzak pushed himself up from the mattress. Throwing back the covers, he stalked to the bathroom. He paused in front of the mirror, and let out a gasp of frustration. The sight that greeted him only served to anger him. His chin-length silver hair was matted sweat, and stuck to his face. His eyes were bloodshot, and dark circles underneath them spoke of how little rest he was getting. His face was pale, beads of sweat ran down his forehead, in summary; he was a mess.

Tugging his boxers down to the floor, he stepped into the shower and activated it. Warm water pelted his skin, making him smile slightly. Yzak tilted his head back, and let the water wash over his face, relaxing as the heat wrapped around his body. He ran his hands through his hair, and sighed slightly. At that moment, he heard the bathroom door slide open.

"What is it?" he barked roughly at the intrusion.

"Ah, umm, Commander Jule. I apologise for the intrusion, but I was sent by Chairwoman Clyne. She requests your presence immediately," the young woman said quietly.

"Well, don't just stand there then. Hand me a towel, woman!" Yzak snapped, stepping out of the shower. The girl's green eyes widened, her commander was standing in front of her, stark naked. Her eyes travelled over his slim body, marvelling at his musculature, and sweeping over his genitals. Her eyes drifted back to his face, and she blushed a deep red. She quickly snatched the towel from the counter and handed it to him sheepishly.

"Sir, I…" she couldn't quite find her voice to finish the sentence. Yzak grinned, wrapping the towel around his waist.

"You'd think you'd never seen a naked man before. You're dismissed Lieutenant O'Connor." His eyes followed her out of the room, he always managed to get into awkward situations with her around. With her shoulder-length red hair, and forest green eyes, she was definitely one of the best looking soldiers he'd ever seen. Dearka regularly commented on how he longed to seduce her, but his attempts were always unsuccessful. A skilled mobile suit pilot she might have been, but she was certainly sheepish around men.

Pushing all thoughts of Annora O'Connor from his mind, he left the bathroom and started to get dressed. Why would Lacus request his presence at this time of morning, and why the urgency?

* * *

Lacus sat at her desk, nervously tapping her pen against the side. She had just received some terrible news, which was sure to shock and disturb the nation. She needed all of her best advisors, she had already called for Yzak Jule, Kira Yamato, and Athrun Zala, who was bound to bring Cagalli Yula Athha with him. Her blue eyes narrowed in thought, how could this have happened? Why so soon? So lost in thought was she, that she hadn't heard Yzak come into her office. 

"Lacus-gichou, you sent for me?" Yzak queried.

"Oh! Yzak-taichou, I hadn't expected you to be here so soon. Please, take a seat. The others won't be here for a few minutes," she pointed to a black leather chair in front of her desk. Yzak sat down, and folded his hands in his lap.

"I don't suppose you'll be telling me why you sent Miss O'Connor into my shower to fetch me, hmm?" His silvery blue eyes were narrowed slightly in annoyance.

Lacus brushed a stray strand of pink hair from her eye, and opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Kira running full-tilt into the office. "Lacus!" he gasped. "What is it?"

"Ah, Kira-sama, thank you for coming. Please take a seat beside Yzak, we have two more guests to wait for." She smiled slightly, but her worry and weariness were evident on her face. Before long, Athrun and Cagalli walked in and closed the doors behind them. "Now then, shall we begin?" Lacus questioned. All four nodded, and she continued on, "I was just informed this morning, not three hours ago, that a new terrorist organisation has risen up. Where from we are unsure, but they operate like Logos, and they have acquired some very unsettling weapon caches. Five hours ago, a nuclear explosion was recorded in the JOSH-A crater."

"But Lacus, that would mean…" Cagalli breathed.

"That they've either retained, or stolen nuclear weapons from the EAF during the last war. It also means that an attack is not far behind, and if they are Logos, the attacks will be focused here, on PLANT." Athrun interjected.

"That can't be! Logos were destroyed, Lord Djibril was killed by Rey za Burrel. The surrounding ZAFT forces all witnessed his ship explode, and Dullindal had civilians murder the rest, right?" Kira's violet eyes swept across the room, worried.

"Wrong," Yzak snorted. "There were a few key members that were captured, and imprisoned on Earth. Logos was not destroyed, Dullindal failed."

"Correct Yzak," Lacus stated. "And to make things just a little more unsettling, three of those Logos members escaped, and their families have disappeared. From all intelligence reports I've read, a woman named Petrine infiltrated the prison, and set the Logos members loose. Who she is exactly is still unknown."

Disbelief was etched across each face in the room, could this really be Logos? Yzak stood up, and cleared his throat. "So then, I assume you'll want me to assemble my team and depart for Alaska, right gichou?"

"Yes Yzak, that is exactly what I want you to do. Please depart as soon as humanly possible, we cannot waste any time in finding them." She turned to Athrun, "I would like you and Kira to suit up as well, you'll be accompanying Yzak. I've asked the Archangel to dock at PLANT. You've no need to worry about the protection of PLANT, Mwu La Flaga and Akatsuki will be enough for now. Please everyone, do your best to put a stop to this before anything serious actually happens."

"I'll be cutting my vacation short and returning to ORB, I suppose. I'll need to report this to the emirs, and we'll work out what to do from there." Cagalli smiled weakly at Lacus, and left the office quietly, Athrun trailing behind her.

Yzak snapped a salute, and left the office as well, muttering something under his breath as he went. Kira stood beside Lacus. "It's all going to happen again, isn't it?" he whispered.

"Not if we can help it, my love." Lacus took Kira's hand in hers, and kissed it gently.


	2. Beginnings

Thank you for all the reviews, and I'm glad I've been able to make something to entertain you thus far. Here's chapter 2 for those who were anticipating it, I hope you enjoy it! I know I enjoyed writing it.

**Obligatory Disclaimer**: I do not own Gundam SEED/Destiny, nor any of its characters. All original intellectual property is owned by Sunrise and its affiliates. All made-up characters are property of me, and I would prefer it that you contact me before using any of them in your fics, thank you.

All reviews are welcome, including constructive criticism. This is by no means my first fanfic, I've just never published any previous ones on the internet before.

* * *

Annora stepped out of her bathroom, humming her favourite tune and rubbing a towel through her hair. Clasping her bra, she couldn't help but think back to what she had seen that very morning; Yzak Jule, completely naked. Her face flushed red again, and she giggled. It was always awkward whenever she met up with her commander, but she coveted those brief moments with him. His silver hair and icy blue eyes gave him the look of ethereal beauty, and he was tall and slim, but strong. 

_I wonder what it would be like to be in his arms? _She wondered wistfully. A knock on her door snapped her out of her reverie. "Come in," she called.

"Lieutenant," Yzak said.

"C-commander!" she gasped, frantically searching for a shirt. "I didn't realize it was you, I was expecting my sister…" _Oh god, oh god, oh god… I'm half naked! _She panicked.

"Interesting choice of uniform, Annora," Yzak mused. "This is almost payback for this morning, no?" He chuckled lightly, and picked up her tank top from the top of her dresser. He tossed it towards her, and grinned, quite amused by her embarrassment.

She yanked it on hastily, muttering her thanks.

"How is it," he asked, "that we always seem to catch each other at the worst times? Ah, no matter. Get your uniform on, we're launching in 2 hours."

"Where are we going, sir?" She pulled on her jacket and started to button it.

"Alaska, I expect you to be onboard in an hour. Please inform the other pilots. Also, Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala," he practically spat the name, "will be joining us for this mission, make sure the maintenance crew knows." He snapped a salute to her and walked out of her room. Pausing at her door he added, "Pink lace suits you." and closed it behind him.

She shook her head and laughed, awkward moment indeed. Picking up her pack, she ran out the door, heading for the military hangar.

* * *

"Athrun," Cagalli said. He turned, and ran his hand across her cheek lightly, making her shiver. "It looks like it's time for us to part ways again, will we ever get a week of peace and quiet together?" She sighed. 

"Assuming we find their main base of operations quickly, I shouldn't be gone for too long. I promise you, when this is over with, we will take a real vacation together. Just you and I, no cell phones, no laptops, no interruptions." He grinned, brushing her unruly blonde bangs out of her amber eyes. "But for now, we have jobs to do."

"I know, you're right, it just seems like whenever we try to steal some time for ourselves, something always pops up to separate us again. I'm getting sick of it." Her brows furrowed in frustration. Athrun tilted her head up with his hand, and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Believe me, I want nothing more than to spend a few nights alone with you." His emerald eyes sparkled mischievously.

"I love you, Athrun," Cagalli whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I love you too." He wrapped his arms around her, and rested his head on top of hers.

"Athrun, are you there?" Kira's voice came through the intercom.

"Yes, I'm on my way out now. Give me a moment." He grabbed Cagalli's face with his hands, and kissed her roughly. "Be safe, Cagalli."

"You too," she said worriedly. They held each other's gaze for a moment, and then Athrun was gone. Cagalli wrapped her arms around herself, and walked slowly around their suite. Two days, a measly two days was all she had managed to get out of her two week vacation. _The world is against letting me rest, _she thought. Sighing, she picked up her suitcase and headed out the door, looking over at the king size bed one last time. At least she could be thankful for the two wonderful nights with Athrun. Smiling to herself, she closed the door and left the hotel.

* * *

"Konnichiwa Waldfelt-taichou," Kira beamed. 

"Ah, kid. Good to see you again. The lady has handed command of Eternal to Yzak Jule," Andrew shrugged. "I was surprised to hear the both you and Zala would be onboard, yet Jule would be the commanding officer. She certainly puts a lot of faith into his abilities."

"And so she should," Yzak sneered, stepping through the door to the bridge. "Just because Yamato is her little bitch doesn't automatically make him a commander, his only skill is mobile suit piloting. He's not qualified to command a ship."

"Don't take it seriously," Dearka laughed coming up behind Yzak. "His strong suit has never been socializing with others. Why do you think he hasn't had a woman in over a year? His charming personality scares even the easiest girl away!" The bridge erupted into laughter, and Yzak slammed his fist down on the rail.

"Shut up, all of you! Get back to work! We're launching!" He turned briskly and stalked off of the bridge, shoving Dearka out of his way. "Bastard," he shouted back to Dearka.

"Hey, don't blame me for your sexual problems," Dearka chuckled. Running his hand through his wavy blonde hair, he turned to Kira. "Good to see you again Kira, it's been far too long. I admit I was pretty pleased to hear both you and Athrun would be joining us, makes this mission just that much easier," he paused, and then pulled Kira in so he could whisper to him. "There's this really cute girl onboard, she's timid and shy, and completely blows me off when I attempt to talk to her. You're a pretty unintimidating guy, think you could give her a talk for me?"

"Umm, err… Sure, I guess. What's her name? Where can I find her?" Kira scratched his head in puzzlement.

"Her name's Annora, and she's almost always with her mobile suit, she's obsessed with the thing. The only guy she won't run away from is Yzak, and I'm getting pretty desperate." Dearka smirked sheepishly.

"She's a gundam pilot? Hmm… Yeah, I'll try to talk to her for you."

"Great, thanks bud!" Dearka slapped Kira on the back, and walked away laughing.

Kira rubbed his back gingerly, and then set off to find this female pilot. He was always fascinated by women with piloting abilities. Cagalli never ceased to amaze him. Despite being a natural, she knew her way around a mobile suit. Coordinator pilots were by and large all male, but there were a few exceptions, and he was always excited when he got to meet one of them.

Entering the hangar, he found his target. She was a relatively young girl, looked to be around 18 or 20. She had curly scarlet red hair that fell to her shoulders, and dazzling deep green eyes. He supposed she was about 5'7", by no means a short girl, but not very tall either. She was clad in the standard redcoat ZAFT uniform, with the short pink skirt and white boots with black tips. Her focus seemed to be on the console in front of her, so Kira cleared his throat in hopes of catching her attention.

"Oh!" she turned to face the newcomer. "You must be Kira Yamato! I've heard so much about you, this is truly an honour!"

"Ah, yeah…" he laughed nervously, he had never been very comfortable with his celebrity status. "I was told there was an exceptional gundam pilot onboard, I just had to come see for myself. Would you mind telling me about your machine?"

"Of course!" a smile lit up her face. "This is my mobile suit, ZGMF-X21B Serenity." She pointed to her pride and joy; the machine was no less impressive than Strike Freedom. It was the same size as Kira's own unit, but black and purple in colour. It too was equipped with neutron-jammer cancellers, and many different armaments.

"Sugoi…" Kira breathed.

"It's my baby. I started out piloting a gouf, but Commander Jule arranged to have this unit given to me. I couldn't believe it when he took me to see it for the first time, I thought he was showing me his new unit. Imagine my surprise when he says, 'It's yours!' I thought I was going have a stroke!" She giggled.

"It's definitely pretty amazing. Speaking of Yzak, you seem pretty fond of him. Are you two….?" Kira raised an eyebrow.

"Oh! Oh god no. He's… well, he's gorgeous, and a skilled mobile suit pilot, and a great commander. But I could never… he would never think of me that way." She cast her gaze down to her feet.

"Oh, right, I see. Well, you know Dearka, he's a really nice guy, and I think…"

"He's a chauvinistic pig who thinks with his penis and not his brain. He thinks of women as sexual objects and nothing more, I would rather scour my eyes out with a rusty SOS pad than ever be intimate with someone like him. He's rude, he's slimy, and he's creepy." She took a deep breath, "I'm so sorry Kira, I went off on a tangent there. Please forgive me."

"Ah, no, no need to apologize. It's I who should be apologizing. Dearka asked me to talk to you, I feel so embarrassed right now. Everything you said about him is pretty much true, he was with one of my good friends for a year or so. She kicked him to the curb after finding him in bed with another girl, but that's just the way Dearka is," Kira laughed.

"I suppose, he's a nice enough person, he just makes my skin crawl." Annora flashed a sweet smile, and went back to working at her console. "I need to get back to work, but I've informed the maintenance crew that you and Athrun Zala will be joining us, they're already working on your units. If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to call for me."

Kira nodded, and gave her a quick wave before jogging out of the hangar.

Yzak watched Annora work from his dark corner, smirking. So she despised Dearka, eh? Well, that was great news for him. Dearka had this nasty habit of stealing all of the girls that Yzak had ever had his eye on; this time that fucker wouldn't succeed, though. She was his, and he _would_ have her.


	3. Scouting Party

Another update tonight, thank goodness for free time. Things will heat up in this chapter, whether it's going to be sexual, or a battle is uncertain, but hang on to your hats folks. The plot picks up from here, and who knows where it'll go! ;) If my writing seems to decline near the end, it's because it took me until 4am to finish this chapter. So basically, _me no think gud without sleep._

**Obligatory Disclaimer**: I do not own Gundam SEED/Destiny, nor any of its characters. All original intellectual property is owned by Sunrise and its affiliates. All made-up characters are property of me, and I would prefer it that you contact me before using any of them in your fics, thank you.

All reviews are welcome, including constructive criticism. This is by no means my first fanfic, I've just never published any previous ones on the internet before.

* * *

"Eternal, launch." Yzak commanded. The engines roared to life, and the alarms went off informing all crewmembers of the impending launch. Slowly, the ship started to move forward out of the bay. Yzak's face was set in grim determination. He had called all four of the mobile suit pilots onboard to the briefing room to formulate a scouting plan. He was not looking forward to seeing Athrun again, but this time he had managed to make the blue-haired prince his subordinate, just as he said he would five years ago. 

_Five years, has it really been that long since the first war?_ Yzak thought solemnly. _Miguel, Rusty, Nicol… I will complete this mission in your honour, war will not envelop the human race again, and this I swear to you. Your deaths will not be forgotten._ The now 22 year old coordinator had become a high-ranking official in the ZAFT army, and was the military strength behind Lacus Clyne, who had been appointed as Supreme Chairwoman of PLANT not two years ago. So much had changed since her election, and truly for the better.

All four of the mobile suit pilots filed into the room and took their seats. The first was Dearka Elsman, the 22 year old tanned blonde pilot, and Yzak's best friend. They had been together since the academy, and despite their differences had always been close. It was Dearka who had taught Yzak to think with an open mind. If it weren't for him, he probably would have been killed in the first war.

Seated beside him was the strong-willed, yet soft-spoken Kira Yamato. Originally the pilot of Strike, he had been Yzak's arch-nemesis. An extremely talented and tormented 21 year old mobile suit pilot. Yzak was shocked to learn of Kira's identity at the end of the first war, a coordinator who had fought on EAF's side, and later paired up with his childhood friend and Lacus Clyne to end the war. He was also the hero of the second war; with the legendary Freedom, Archangel, and Eternal they had uncovered Dullindal's insane plan, and put a stop to it.

Next was the woman of his dreams. The strikingly beautiful Annora O'Connor. She had lost her parents in the tragedy of the second war, along with hundreds of thousands of other civilians after the attack that was meant for Aprilius. She was 19 years old, and had graduated at the top of her class in the academy. With an astounding flair for piloting and technical maintenance, she became one of the best pilots in the military. Rivaling Athrun Zala in both skill and speed, she had a certain quiet elegance about her. Yzak was fascinated with her, and completely infatuated.

The last pilot was Yzak's long-time… well, comrade, the 21 year old Athrun Zala. Though the tensions between the two had dissipated slightly, Yzak was still fiercely jealous of Athrun's skill in just about everything. The only thing Yzak had ever beaten Athrun in had been chess, and that was a very long time ago. He had been the commander of their team in the first war, and had taken Nicol Amarfi's death extremely hard. A stoic and somber young man, he had always been a favourite of military superiors throughout their youth. Both had been acquainted since childhood, as their parents were all high-ranking and powerful names in the ZAFT military and PLANT government.

"Welcome all of you," Yzak started. "First off, I would like to welcome our two new temporary members, Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala. Most of us know each other already, so I'll skip the introductions. As you know, we're headed for Alaska. Intelligence tells us that their base of operations is somewhere around the JOSH-A crater, and thus we will begin our search there. Since Yamato, Zala, and Elsman are war veterans and quite capable of handling scouting missions on their own, I suggest all three of you split up so that we can cover more ground with minimal effort. O'Connor, you're with me. Yamato will take east, Zala west, Elsman north, and O'Connor and I will go south. We will rendezvous back at the Eternal after 2 hours, do not engage in combat. If you find something, radio it in. That is all, please prepare and standby in your units."

All four stood, saluted, and started filing out of the room. Yzak grabbed Annora's arm and pulled her back into the room, waiting for the others to leave his sight. "I need to talk to you," he said. His eyes traveled over face, she was quite obviously nervous. "Relax, it's nothing bad."

"What can I do for you then, commander?" Her eyes flickered over his face, searching for some kind of insight as to what he was thinking, but she found nothing.

"Just this," he pulled her to him and kissed her lightly. He felt her relax against him, and wrap her arms around his neck. He dared to let the kiss deepen, parting her lips with his tongue and exploring her mouth. His hands caressed her body, exploring the curves, and then stopped at her breasts. How he longed to feel them without all that cloth in the way. Annora pushed back from him suddenly, her breasts heaving with her breathing.

"Yzak," she breathed. "Why did you…?" He placed a finger to her lips gently.

"It's time to go, lieutenant." He smirked at her and left the room, leaving her to ponder what had just happened.

* * *

"Yzak Jule, Gouf, launching." 

"Kira Yamato, Strike Freedom, going!"

"Athrun Zala, Justice, making a sortie."

"Dearka Elsman, Gouf, going out."

"Annora O'Connor, Serenity, I'm launching!"

The mobile suits shout out of the Eternal one at a time. Kira, Athrun, and Dearka all sped off in different directions, while Annora and Yzak went straight ahead.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Annora questioned.

"Anything that looks suspicious, anything that could serve as a base," Athrun's voice replied.

"Yes, anything that this organisation could be hiding in. We need to find them, and flush them out of their hidey-holes," Kira agreed.

"Enough chatter, let's find these bastards!" Dearka exclaimed.

Annora and Yzak flew over the Alaskan terrain, scanning the land for anything suspicious. As they neared the JOSH-A crater they passed many ruined mobile suits, the carnage was incredible. To think the EAF had created something like the cyclops system in such short time, it was frightening.

"Yzak," Annora started. "I don't see anything here, just a bunch of ghosts from the past."

"Be patient and keep looking, we may find something. Keep your eyes open," he replied. Annora shook her head, and kept searching.

* * *

Not far away, a tall woman surveyed the oncoming mobile suits with growing uneasiness. The fools, why had they detonated the nuke here? It was far too close to their base, and now they had ZAFT crawling all over their asses. Sighing, she picked up her radio, "Robinson, we've got at least two ZAFT mobile suits headed our way. You have approximately 10 minutes before they reach you, cover everything you can with camouflage and get your asses into hiding. We're not ready to take on any mobile suits, move it!" After hearing the confirmation, she sat down in her bunker and pressed her hand to her forehead. If they were found now, everything would be over. 

She was a slender woman, with dark brown eyes, and dark green hair that reached down to her waist. Her mother had always told her she could have married any man she wanted, but she was forced into marriage with the late Lord Djibril. A sophisticated yet abusive man, he had treated Petrine with disdain. She had always assumed he was homosexual, since he never touched her in an intimate way in their 5 years of marriage. He was a cross and unforgiving man, and she was not sorry to hear of his demise. Because of her loveless marriage, she had formed a relationship with Caelum Arian, the son of one of the Logos leaders. Their love was passionate, and when he was taken prisoner by ZAFT forces, she plotted to save him and a few others, and she had succeeded.

She did not fully believe in the ideals of the group, but her love for Caelum was overwhelming, and she would follow him to the end of the Earth. The entire operation was the work of his father, and she was their one and only mobile suit pilot. As she watched the two ZAFT units fly closer to their base, she suddenly had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was going to go terribly wrong, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was. All she could do for now was lay low and wait.

* * *

Yzak and Annora flew slow and low to the ground, scouring the landscape for any sign of a base. Annora saw it first, and then Yzak spotted it. A large bunker-like structure which was poorly camouflaged against the frozen terrain. "We've found something," Yzak barked through the radio. 

"Good work Yzak," Athrun replied. "Everyone head to Yzak's coordinates immediately."

Dearka was the first to reach them, but Kira and Athrun weren't far behind. All five mobile suits touched down, and they exited their cockpits cautiously. Yzak unholstered his gun, and walked toward the entrance, signaling for the rest to follow. They crept silently through the darkened corridor, all with their guns at the ready. It was silent in the bunker, but there were signs of it having been recently occupied. Athrun carefully opened the first door on the left, and swung in pointing his gun in front of him. "Clear," he said.

Annora swung open the next door, and echoed Athrun, "Clear."

Dearka reached the end of the hall, and rattled the doorknob; it appeared to be locked. Shrugging, he kicked the door open and entered the room with his gun at the ready. "Uh, Yzak, you should see this," he called.

Yzak and Kira ran up to Dearka and peered through the doorway, the sight that greeted them was gruesome. Kira covered his mouth and gagged, backing away slowly. Yzak's eyes widened as he took in the scene before him. Dozens of children, all in different states of decomposition, all with multiple bullet holes. The room was very large, with dozens of tanks lining the walls.

Athrun came forward and placed a hand on Yzak's shoulder. "I've seen this before, at a lab when I was with the Minerva. This is an extended laboratory, where they make their 'ace pilots.' The pilot of the Destroy that you dispatched in Eurussia was one of them, Kira. These children are bred for the sole purpose of killing, fed all kinds of drugs to enhance their performance, and those that are too weak are killed mercilessly. These projects were funded by Logos; it appears Lacus was right, Logos is back."

"How could someone do this? They're just children for god's sake. What kind of sick bastard does this shit?" Yzak threw up his hands in anger. "Annora, photograph the scene, the rest of us will search for any kind of documentation."

"Yes sir," she said, pulling out her camera.

Athrun moved through the slaughter room. Spotting a desk with a computer at the back, he sprinted towards it. It was still on, and seemed to be in perfect condition. Seating himself in the chair, he frantically started typing, searching for files on the children and who was spear-heading the project this time. Pulling up one file after another, one finally gave him pause. It was the log of one of the scientists, someone named Fukuda.

_November 27th, C.E. 76_

_The subjects seem to be improving. With the introduction of the new drug, we've seen far better results with less psychosis. The strength, speed, and intelligence of these subjects seem to rival that of the coordinators. We've finally found an alternative to gene manipulation; this will change the way wars are fought forever._

_Mr. Arian himself will be coming by to see them in action this week, and hopefully he will be nothing short of blown away. Our hard work will finally pay off as Arian's plan comes to fruition. For a pure and blue world._

"Yzak," Athrun called out, "I've found a name. Someone named Arian is either leading the project, or close to the leader. We need to copy the contents of this harddrive, and get back to the Eternal as soon as possible."

"Then do it, and let's get the fuck out of here," Yzak hissed. He tapped his foot impatiently while Athrun loaded the files on to his handheld, then whirled about and left the bloodbath behind him as quickly as he could. Athrun was not far behind. "Move out, get back in your mobile suits and let's get back to the Eternal," Yzak ordered.

The team practically ran out of the bunker. Kira inhaled the fresh air in thankful gulps, glad to be out of that place and away from the dead. Annora tucked her camera back in her pocket, and ran toward her unit. She saw a flash of metal out of the corner of her eye, and before she knew what was happening, she was knocked to the ground, with a knife stuck in her shoulder. She screamed in pain, trying desperately to get the figure off of her.

Yzak and Dearka looked up at the scream, and Yzak took off running, pulling his pistol out once more. "Annora!" he yelled. "Get the fuck off of her!" He fired two shots; both hitting the attacker in the back, but the man seemed unharmed. Yzak watched as the man pulled the knife out, and got ready to plunge it into her chest. He screamed in fury, something snapping inside of him, and fired one more shot which hit the aggressor right between the eyes. The man fell backwards and off of Annora. Yzak dropped to his knees and slid beside Annora, gently lifting her up.

"I'm fine Yzak," she grunted, holding her shoulder and grimacing in pain. "'Tis but a flesh wound," she said smiling weakly. The wound in her shoulder was oozing blood, and she felt terribly woozy. The snow beneath her was starting to turn red, and she shuddered. "Help me up please, I need to get back to Serenity." Yzak complied and lifted her to her feet, his eyes full of worry. She stuck her foot in the stirrup, and was raised up to her cockpit, where she collapsed into the chair.

Dearka ran up to Yzak, and slapped him on the back. "Nice shot, hero! I've never seen you hit a target so dead-on before, that was amazing." He kicked the lifeless body, and then added, "Should we take it back to the ship?"

"No, but check him for any I.D." Yzak said before running off to his Gouf. Dearka rummaged through the man's clothing, and pulled out an I.D. card. _Subject 32?_

Athrun and Kira shot each other a look before getting into their respective units. All five gundams started up, and sped toward the Eternal at full speed. Just what exactly was it they had uncovered today?

* * *

"Ow, Jesus fucking Christ," Annora cursed. She was receiving stitches for the gaping hole in her shoulder, and it hurt like a bitch. "So many fascinating technology advancements, and yet stitches still fucking hurt." 

The doctor smiled at her, "Hold still miss, I'm almost done." One last pull through, and then he snipped the thread, finishing it off. "All done, you're free to go."

Annora stood up, and left the room, perhaps a bit too eagerly. She had lost quite a bit of blood, and was still extremely dizzy, but she was determined to get to his room before passing out. Her vision was blurred, and she didn't notice Athrun in front of her until she had already barreled him over. "I'm so sorry," she said in exasperation. "I didn't see you!"

"It's fine, let me help you to your room. You've had a rough day." Athrun smiled at her, and his emerald eyes twinkled. He helped her back to her feet, and started leading her to the living quarters.

"I was heading to…" she stopped for a second, unsure whether to tell Athrun or not.

"To where?" he asked.

"To Yzak's room," she finished. "Can you help me there?" His reply was not something she had expected. Athrun stopped dead suddenly, and then doubled over laughing like a hyena. "What's so funny about that?" she queried, annoyance evident in her voice.

"I'm sorry, I just hadn't expected… Hahaha, Yzak? Oh my… hehehe." Athrun wiped a tear from his eye, and started moving her forward again. "Of course I'll help you to his room, but why isn't your knight in shining armor here to help you himself?"

"I don't know," she replied shrugging slightly, then wincing in pain. Athrun grinned at her, and pushed her through the door to the commander's quarters.

"Have fun," he chuckled, winking knowingly at her, then heading off down the corridor still laughing. She sighed in frustration, what was so funny about her and Yzak? She walked over to the large bed, and climbed onto it. Before she knew it, she was asleep.

Not long after, Yzak entered his room. The door slid closed behind him, and he started undressing. One by one, his pieces of clothing fell to the floor, then were kicked unceremoniously into a pile. He rubbed his forehead, weary from the simple scouting mission which had turned into a nightmare. He was so close to losing her, if he hadn't shot the attacker in the head, she would have died. What was that strange feeling that had overcome him at that moment? It was as if... as if something inside of him had snapped. Now clad only in his boxers, he walked mindlessly to his bed and collapsed on to it.

Annora stirred slightly beside him, and moaned quietly in her sleep. Yzak jumped off of the bed in surprise, then realizing who was asleep in it, smiled. He gently brushed the red curls out of her eyes, and let his finger slide across her lips. She stirred again, moving her head higher up on the pillow. Slipping beneath the blankets, he slid an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "Lights off," he commanded, and the room went dark. Holding her to him, he fell asleep. The first untroubled sleep he'd had in 5 years.


	4. Painful Memories

Between my internet shorting out on me all night, and the website being wonky as hell, I was unable to update last night. For that I apologize. I was unable to write another chapter today, but there will be 2 more tomorrow most likely. First rule of writing, keep your target audience entertained. ;)

Thank you to all who have left reviews thus far, your encouragement and kind words fill me with pride. If there are any ideas you have that you think would make this story more enjoyable, please don't hesitate to send me a PM or an e-mail. I'm completely open to anything.

**Obligatory Disclaimer**: I do not own Gundam SEED/Destiny, nor any of its characters. All original intellectual property is owned by Sunrise and its affiliates. All made-up characters are property of me, and I would prefer it that you contact me before using any of them in your fics, thank you.

All reviews are welcome, including constructive criticism. This is by no means my first fanfic; I've just never published any previous ones on the internet before.

* * *

"_Annie!"_

_Annora turned, catching sight of her mother. "Mom! Oh god, I missed you so much." She ran into her mother's arms and embraced her fiercely, kissing her cheek._

"_I missed you too, sweetie. I'm so glad the academy let you take a week to spend with us, your father's missed you so much. Your two sisters even stopped by, they won't be here for the full week, but it'll be like a little family reunion!" Sherrie cracked a wide grin. "Angel's brought Kiara and Jason with her, and Ariella's managed to drag Perry along. They came all the way from ORB to see you! They're all out waiting by the car."_

"_Ugh, Perry," Annora groaned. "It's nice that they all took time off to come visit us though, this is definitely a pleasant surprise. Let's go see them!" Annora grabbed her mother's hand, and pulled her through the airport. Shortly thereafter they arrived at the car, and sure enough the entire family was there to greet her._

_The first she hugged was her father, Lauren. He was a tall and slender man, with short light brown hair, and misty gray eyes. He picked her up, and twirled her around laughing. "I missed you, kiddo."_

"_I missed you too, dad," Annora beamed._

_The next on her list was her older sister by four years, Ariella. She looked very much like Annora, but her hair was raven black and cropped short, and her eyes a deep brown. The two sister's gave each other a quick kiss, and Ariella tousled Annora's hair. "Welcome home, brat," she teased._

_After that was the eldest sister, Angel, who was twelve years older than Annora. She was shorter than the other two, and looked more like her father than their mom. She had light brown hair that reached down to her chin, and her eyes were silver. Annora had always been jealous of Angel's eyes, they had a habit of changing colours with her mood, and it was absolutely fascinating to watch. They embraced, and Angel smiled at her. "Nice to see you again, Annie."_

_Annora bent down to scoop up her beautiful niece; eight years younger than Annora, and an amazing soccer player with ace grades in school. Kiara was Annora's pride and joy, and she spoiled her whenever the opportunity arose. She was slender and petite, like her mother, but had her father's dark brown hair, and "puppy dog" brown eyes. Annora planted kisses all over Kiara's face, making her giggle insanely._

_Next was Jason, her brother-in-law. He bent down to hug her, and gave her a little squeeze, "Nice to see you again, little one," he said with a smile. He was a tall and muscular man, with short dark brown hair, and large brown eyes. Ever since his marriage to her eldest sister when she was seven, he had always been a big brother to her. He was only a few months older than Angel, but acted much younger; he often took Annora and Ariella to the arcade in their youth._

_Finally, she clasped Perry's hand and gave him a quick greeting. She had never been very fond of her second brother-in-law, their personalities clashed. He was good-looking though, tall and slim with shoulder-length blonde hair, and crystal blue eyes. He hadn't been part of the family for very long, so she supposed he would grow on her after a while._

_She turned to her mom, and gave her another quick squeeze. Her mom, Sherrie, was relatively short, but shared the same face as Annora and Ariella. Her chestnut brown hair fell down to her waist, and her hazel eyes were filled with kindness, she was a beautiful woman, and her beauty was only surpassed by her loving heart._

"_I missed all of you so much, thanks for coming home and spending my vacation with me, it really means a lot to me. I love you guys," Annora said, smiling._

* * *

Yzak was awoken by the sound of muffled sobbing. Confused, he sat up and commanded the lights to turn on. Annora was asleep, clutching her pillow with her hands and crying. He gently shook her shoulder to wake her, concerned about her. He had been with her day in and day out for the better part of a year now, and had never once seen her cry before this. "Annora," he whispered into her ear. "Wake up, it's just a dream." 

"I wish," she sobbed. Slowly she sat up, covering her hands with her face, crying harder. Yzak pulled her into his arms, smoothing her hair with his hand and trying to hush her.

"It's okay, it was just a dream. There's no reason to cry. Shh, Annie," he murmured. She looked up to him at the use of her nickname; her eyes wide, and tears pouring down her face.

"Mommy… Daddy…" she wailed, burying her face into Yzak's neck.

He had heard she'd lost her parents in the last war, they were on one of the colonies that were destroyed by Djibril's attack. Up until now, he had never thought much of it. To lose a parent, he couldn't even imagine the pain she must feel. He spoke to her softly and soothed her until the sobs let up, then lifted her face to his. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"There was nothing you could have done, it wasn't your fault. Logos," she fought back a lump that was threatening to rise in her throat. "They killed my parents, and nothing will ever bring them back." A tear slid down her cheek, and Yzak wiped it away with his finger.

"We should get some more sleep I guess…" he said, unsure of what was appropriate to do next. Annora smiled at him and shook her head slowly.

"Sleep is not what I need right now. What I need at this very moment," she breathed, "is you." Pushing him down to the bed, she climbed on top of him and started kissing his neck.

"N-nani?" Yzak asked, startled.

"I want you to make love to me, Yzak. Please…" Her red curls framed her exquisite face, and her green eyes glistened. She lifted her shirt over head, revealing her bare breasts, and smiled uncertainly at Yzak. His shock quickly turned into desire, and he flipped her over on to her back, taking her place on top. His tongue worked its way down her body slowly, stopping to nip at different spots along her collarbone, then reached her nipple. Taking the left one into his mouth, he skillfully ran his tongue around it and nibbled, eliciting small moans from her. He lifted his head to gaze at her face once more, ah but she was beautiful.

Encouraged by her moans and bucking hips, he moved down her body once more, tracing his tongue down along her stomach. He stopped just above her panties, and pushed her legs apart slowly. Flashing a mischievous grin at her, he slowly pulled her panties down her legs with his teeth. Finally he took up position at her womanhood, and playfully slipped a finger inside of her, making her back arch involuntarily. Slowly he brought his lips down on to her, flicking his tongue masterfully over her clitoris.

"Oh… Yzak…" she gasped, placing a hand on his head and twirling his hair around in her fingers. She had never felt something quite like this before. As he worked his tongue around inside of her, her body twitched, and her hips bucked. She was panting and moaning, calling out his name, gripping the sheets beside her in ecstasy. Suddenly, an explosion of heat pulsated through her body, and she cried out. Shaking from the massive orgasm, she started to laugh. "My god Yzak, you're amazing!"

"My turn," he whispered. Pulling himself up on top of her, he bent his head down to nibble on her earlobe playfully. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Please, do it," she panted. He smirked, and slipped himself inside of her. She gasped, and dug her nails into his back briefly, unprepared for the pain.

"I'll be gentle," he breathed in her ear. Slowly, he started to move in and out, making sure to not cause her any discomfort. The pain ebbed, and was soon replaced by a feeling of extreme pleasure. As she started moaning, he began to move a bit faster, pushing himself in further as he went along. She held on to his back tightly, and had wrapped her legs around his buttocks, pulling him into her deeper. Soon they were bucking their hips in unison, and she was encouraging him to go harder, and so he complied.

Gripping the headboard, he plunged into her as hard as he could, making her moan his name. Nearing climax, he crushed his lips down on to hers kissing her deeply, muffling his moans with her mouth. Faster, harder, he was about to lose control.

As if on cue, his door slid open, and Dearka walked in.

"Oh… god…" Yzak gasped, thrusting in one last time as he released deep inside of her, and rolled off of her, panting.

"Ugh, had I known you were jacking off, I would have knocked," Dearka said, coming around the corner. "I had something to tell…" he stopped dead, disbelief on his face. Yzak was in bed, and with a woman. Annora squealed, frantically pulling the sheet up to cover her naked body. She tried to hide her face with her hand, and blushed a deep red as she felt Dearka's eyes all over her body.

"Regardless of whether I was asleep or jacking off, you should have fucking knocked," Yzak hissed at Dearka.

"I… uh… no… Annora?" Dearka stared incredulously at Yzak, who shot him a look of pure malice.

"Yes, Annora, and you're disturbing us. Get the hell out of here, go wait in the hall for me, I'll be out when I'm good and ready." Yzak pointed at the door, furious with the intrusion.

"Err, but why? Why is she here? Why are you two…?" Dearka stammered.

"Does it even fucking matter? I said GET OUT!" Yzak threw a pillow at Dearka, who caught it with his right hand and let it fall to the floor. He backed out of the room, and leaned against the wall outside, still not comprehending what he had just seen.

Yzak got out of bed, heading for the bathroom. "Sorry about that," he muttered. "Please, rest as much as you can today, you have it off. I'll try to check up on you as much as time permits me to, but for now I need to shower."

"Umm, yeah, definitely. Have a good shower," Annora said uncertainly, laying back in bed with her arm over her eyes.

* * *

"Ohayou gozaimasu Dearka!" Kira said enthusiastically, stopping outside of Yzak's room. "I didn't expect you to be up so early. Are you waiting for Yzak?" 

"I just caught Yzak…" Dearka shook his head to clear the sight from his mind. "He was banging Annora."

"Nani? But Yzak is…"

"Antisocial? A downright asshole? Some women are attracted to that, Kira," Athrun finished. "I knew she was in there, I took her to his room last night. Nothing to be too shocked about, he did arrange to have her given Serenity after all, and you both saw how he acted when she was attacked yesterday." He shrugged. "Either way, their relationship does not concern us, this mission does."

"You're right," Kira sighed. "I suspect he'll be in there for a while, we should head to the cafeteria and start breakfast without him. He'll catch up. Race you there!" Kira ran down the corridor at full speed. Dearka took off after him, and Athrun slapped his hand to his forehead. The ever-childish Kira…

"Good morning Athrun," a familiar voice greeted him cheerfully.

Athrun turned to Yzak's door, where Annora was standing in a pink robe. "Ah, ohayou O'Connor-san. I trust you slept well?" Athrun's eyebrow raised in amusement.

"I suppose Dearka told you, eh? Well, it can't be helped I guess… But yes, I slept very well, thank you for asking. And you, are you well?" She smiled sweetly.

"Hai, very well. I was just on my way to the cafeteria, but I can wait for you to get dressed if you'd like me to accompany you," he offered.

"Thanks, but I'll pass. I've been instructed to take the day off and rest by Yzak, so I was just going to wait for him to finish his shower. I heard talking out here and decided to investigate, though seeing you was a pleasant surprise." Her green eyes twinkled, and her smile brightened.

"Well, that's a direct order from your commander, my dear," Yzak said, wrapping his arms around her. "And I expect you to follow my orders, get washed up and meet me in the cafeteria, we'll eat together." He nuzzled her neck, making her giggle.

"Yes, sir!" she said mockingly, and went back into the room.

"Athrun," Yzak greeted.

"Commander, you seem chipper this morning." Athrun winked at Yzak, who winked right back.

"You spend a night with that beauty, and it changes your outlook on life. Now stop loitering around outside of my quarters, and get your ass in gear. We meet in the briefing room in 1 hour." Yzak saluted Athrun, and slipped back into his room. Athrun shook his head, and started off down the corridor.


	5. Unexpected Reunion

Hello, another chapter. Hope you enjoy it. For those who don't speak/understand Japanese, I'll use some simple phrases throughout my writing. I hear them in my head when thinking of the characters, and thus it's difficult to make everything English. Most notably would be ohayou (gozaimasu) which means good morning. Gichou – chairman/woman, Taichou – commander, Konnichiwa – good afternoon, Wakarimashita – I understand, Nante koto da – frustration (Jesus Christ!), Bakana – that's stupid.

**Obligatory Disclaimer**: I do not own Gundam SEED/Destiny, nor any of its characters. All original intellectual property is owned by Sunrise and its affiliates. All made-up characters are property of me, and I would prefer it that you contact me before using any of them in your fics, thank you.

All reviews are welcome, including constructive criticism. This is by no means my first fanfic; I've just never published any previous ones on the internet before.

* * *

The ocean quietly lapped at the shore, moonlight casting a silver glow across its surface. Cagalli closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against the window pane. It had been a week since she'd last heard from Athrun, and it wasn't exactly a pleasant conversation. They had found another extended lab after their first initial discovery, and they believed there were far more in the area. JOSH-A was alive with terrorist activity, and from the looks of it, they had an army of these extended pilots. 

Sighing, she turned away from the window and laid down on her bed. She unconsciously brought her hand up to her face to admire the ring Athrun had given her so long ago. It had taken her until four months ago to work up the nerve to tell Athrun her true feelings, and things had been the way they were before the second war once more. Even though the girl named Meyrin had thrown herself at him time and time again, he had pushed her away, that's why Cagalli knew that Athrun must have still loved her.

A knock interrupted her thoughts, and she called for them to enter. "Cagalli," Kisaka began, "Chairwoman Clyne is on the line, she requests to speak with you."

"Right, of course, thank you Kisaka." He bowed out of her room, and she turned over, picking up the receiver. "Good evening Lacus."

"Cagalli, I'm glad to hear your voice again," Lacus' voice replied. "I just received a report from Kira, they've found someone… rather unsettling."

"Who?"

* * *

Athrun stalked into Jona Roma Saran's holding cell, his features contorted in anger. "You son of a bitch, why are you still alive?" he spat at Jona. "Furthermore, how are you connected to this new organisation?" 

"I'm not telling you anything, Alex," Jona grinned evilly at Athrun. "Are you still Cagalli's little lap dog? You should have seen the way she cringed when I forced her into bed with me. How does it feel to be with a used whore, Alex?"

Athrun let out a grunt of frustration, and punched Jona squarely in the jaw. "First off, you fucking bottom-feeder, my name is Athrun Zala. Secondly, Cagalli is more woman than you could ever handle."

Jona cradled his face, and shot Athrun a hateful look "So you're Athrun, I should have known; she was always infatuated with you filthy coordinators. Cagalli cried your name when I fucked her on her father's bed." Jona laughed mirthfully. "You won't be getting any information from me, coordinator bastard."

Athrun wound up for another punch, but someone held his arm back. "Let me go!" he cried. "I'm going to give this bastard what he deserves!"

"Stand down, Athrun. No matter how much I wish for his death, we must get him to ORB where he can be questioned properly," Kira stated. "Let Cagalli get her revenge," he added in a whisper. Athrun lowered his arm and nodded solemnly at Kira, then left the room.

"Weak little Kira, always the empathetic pussy," Jona said mockingly.

"Shut your mouth, Saran," Annora warned.

"Oh, the scary little girl is threatening me. Give it up honey, I might even let you live long enough to enjoy my body when we wipe out your kind," he cackled.

"Shut the fuck up, natural scum," Yzak seethed. He closed the cell door, and signaled for the rest to follow him out of the room.

"That pathetic excuse for a man deserves whatever horrors Lady Cagalli will visit upon him," Annora muttered. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"How long until we reach Onogoro Island?" Athrun questioned.

"About eight hours, provided there isn't another attack. You're all dismissed to rest for a while, but be ready for anything," Yzak said.

"Yes sir," they said in unison, and left for the living quarters.

* * *

Yzak paced back and forth on the bridge, clearly on edge. They had found Saran not twelve hours ago, and it was Athrun who identified him. It was a simple reconnaissance mission, and they had been ambushed by a squadron of mobile suits. They were no match for Kira Yamato; he almost single-handedly destroyed the lot of them. Yzak had forgotten how amazing Yamato was in a mobile suit. 

When they landed to capture the enemy pilots, all but one of the cockpits had been self-destructed. As they neared it, a man scrambled out and tried to take off running. Annora had fired a shot into his leg to incapacitate him, and Kira restrained him. When the helmet was removed it revealed an older, and quite scarred Jona Roma Saran. Now the traitorous Logos member was on his way back to ORB, where his family had once been extremely powerful and influential.

_To think we'd find someone like that piloting a mobile suit, it's an insult to the technology._ Yzak shook his head in disbelief, just how far had the naturals advanced the operating systems?

"Hey, Jule," Waldfelt called. "We're entering ORB territorial waters."

"Wakarimashita, cancel battle alert," Yzak muttered.

"Attention all hands, battle alert status is canceled. I repeat; battle alert status is canceled. We will be docking at Onogoro shortly."

"Onogoro Island," Annora whispered. Yzak turned, surprised by her presence.

"I didn't hear you come in. You have family on Onogoro, ne?" he questioned.

"Oh, yes. My two older sisters and their families, I wonder how they are," she trailed off.

"We'll be here for a few days, I'll allow you to see your sisters, just make sure to check with me before leaving the ship." He smiled at her, and she returned it.

"Thanks, but hey, why don't you come with me? I think it would be nice to spend a day together off of the ship, you could meet my family," she said animatedly.

"Uh, yeah, sure… I guess." He flashed a lop-sided grin.

"Nante koto da!" Dearka exclaimed. "Why do you two insist on shoving your mushy disgusting love into everyone's face on this ship? Can't you go be lovey-dovey elsewhere?"

"Why does it bother you so much?" Annora asked.

"I don't appreciate some broad showing up and completely screwing around with my best friend's head, to be completely honest."

"Bakana, you're just being jealous, Elsman," Waldfelt chimed in. Dearka shot him an angry look, and then shrugged and laughed.

"Not anymore, who would want Yzak's sloppy seconds?"

"Hey hey hey, there's no need for such disrespectful language. I for one enjoy this new side of Yzak, at least he's not screaming at all of us," Athrun interjected. He took Annora's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, and she smiled in kind.

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here, jackasses. I'm standing _right here_," Yzak muttered. Various "gomen's" and "sorry's" were heard all around. "You're damn right you're sorry, now get back to work," he snapped. The pilots all filed out of the bridge, Annora couldn't help but grab Yzak's behind on the way out, making him jump and blush in embarrassment.

"ORB headquarters has just hailed us. It's Cagalli-sama!" one of the crewmen called out.

"Put her up on the screen," Yzak commanded. Cagalli's visage appeared on the screen in front of them, and Yzak smirked. "Nice to see you again, Representative Athha."

"Cut the small talk, do you really have Jona onboard?" she demanded.

"So Athrun says, though I wouldn't know. I've never met the man before this," Yzak shrugged.

"Please bring him directly to me when the docking sequence is finished," she stated. "Also, Kira and Athrun should be the only ones escorting him, I don't want any ZAFT military around us."

"But of course, Cagalli. Permission to come ashore?" he asked.

"Granted, do whatever the hell you want, it's not like I care." The screen went blank, and the transmission ended. Yzak frowned in thought; hopefully ORB had the resources to make the man talk.

* * *

The black convertible sped along the street, the sun glinting on its paint. Yzak reveled at the feel of the wind blowing through his hair; it had been so long since he'd been able to just drive around in a fast car. For the past two years if he hadn't been training new recruits, he was in meeting with Lacus Clyne, he barely had any time to himself. 

They had been docked at Onogoro for a week now, and he still hadn't received any information or orders on how to proceed. It bothered him, but he was also happy to have the free time simultaneously. He'd been able to take Annora out to do things that normal couples would do, they saw movies, ate at fancy restaurants, and took walks along the beach. Today however, he was going to meet her two sisters, and he was nervous. This brought their relationship to a whole new level; a level he'd never reached previously.

"Yzak, it's this house up on the right, turn here," Annora called out over the wind. He nodded, and turned into the driveway, slowing the car down considerably. It finally rolled to a stop just outside of the steps of a large white mansion; Yzak let out a whistle of approval. Suddenly, the doors flew open and a young girl came bouncing out.

"Kiara!" Annora cried, leaping out of the car to sweep her niece up in her arms.

"Annie!" the young girl giggled. They exchanged kisses, and then Kiara set her large brown eyes on Yzak. "Who's that?"

"Ah, that is my commander, Yzak Jule," Annora replied.

"Your boooyfriend?" she snickered. Smiling, Yzak stepped out of the car and came up beside the two.

"That is exactly what I am," he grinned. "My, aren't you a pretty little girl. Are your mommy and daddy here?"

"Yeah, they're inside, but I'm not little. Sorry to break it to you bub, but I'm 11," she stated matter-of-factly.

"That's right, she's the ripe old age of 11, I'll need to buy her a walker soon," a female voice replied. They all turned to see who had said it. Standing at the bottom of the steps were Annora's two sisters, and their husbands. The one who spoke had been Angel, the eldest. "I can't tell you how relieved I am to see you've kept our little sister out of harm's way," she added.

"Ah, well, not _completely_ out of harm, Angel. I did sustain a nasty knife wound a few weeks back, but it was nothing," Annora laughed. "Everyone, this is my commander, Yzak Jule. Yzak, this is Angel, Jason, Ariella, Perry, and I believe you've become acquainted with Kiara already."

"Uh, nice to meet you all," he said uncertainly.

"I gotta tell you, I was surprised to hear Annie was bringing her commanding officer home, and not this new boyfriend we keep hearing about," Ariella chimed in.

"Don't be rude Ari, he is a highly decorated war hero of ZAFT after all," Jason said sarcastically.

"Actually, her commander _is_ her boyfriend," Kiara called out. Everyone's eyes shot over to Yzak, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"That's right, they are one and the same, and I expect you all to be nice to him," Annora said, taking Yzak's arm in hers and leading him into the mansion. Trying to get his mind off of how awkward he was feeling, he took the time to really take in Annora's beauty. She was dressed in a strapless rich purple silk dress that stopped half-way down her thighs. Her hair was bound up into a simple ponytail, with the ringlets pulled back to spill down her neck. For shoes, she was wearing simple black sandals with three-inch heels.

Yzak suddenly felt under-dressed in his light brown khakis and blue button-up shirt. "I wish you had told me to wear something better," he muttered to Annora, who just smiled in response. They all took a seat in the large parlor, and a serving girl came in with a tray of tea and biscuits.

"I hope you like tea," Angel said, addressing Yzak. "We're an Irish family, it's one of our traditions."

"Tea will be fine," he grunted. The sisters all started talking to each other about mind-numbingly boring topics, so Yzak stood and walked around the room, admiring the pictures on the wall. Many were of the young girl, but there were also quite a few of the sisters when they were young. Yzak smiled as he happened upon one of Annora as a baby, red curly hair and green eyes, it was hard to mistake her for anyone else. She was in the arms of a beautiful woman with long brown hair, and a tall man was standing behind them.

"Did you find something of interest?" Ariella questioned.

"Oh, sorry, I was just admiring the family pictures," he replied.

"The woman in that picture was our mother, and the man behind her was our father. They were on Januarius 1 when the EAF weapon was fired," she said with a blank tone.

"I was there, I saw the beam slice through the PLANTs," he whispered. "I'm very sorry for your loss."

"The famous Yzak Jule of the le Creuset squad, I never thought I'd meet such a legendary figure," Perry said, changing the topic. "How did you come to meet Annora?"

"She graduated at the top of her class from the academy, and was assigned to my team by Lacus Clyne. I entrusted the Serenity unit to her, and she's been nothing short of spectacular," he shrugged.

"Isn't it a little inappropriate to have a relationship with a subordinate?" Jason asked.

"Jason," Angel warned.

"No, it's not, and I wouldn't care either way," Yzak replied, trying to maintain his cool.

"There's no reason to worry," Annora added, glancing over at Yzak.

"You're involved with a murderer, someone who killed countless civilians, and is known for his less than charming personality. You expect us to be fine with this?" Jason sent Yzak an icy glare.

"It was war, civilian casualties while unfortunate are always a reality," Yzak's eye was twitching in anger. "While I regret some of my past actions, I will not sit here and be ridiculed by a civilian who has no understanding of what I've gone through!"

"That's enough!" Annora shouted. "Both of you need to calm down and show some civility towards each other. I realize you blame ZAFT for mom and dad's deaths, but it is not Yzak's fault. Cut it out, drink your tea, and let's have a nice visit. With how things are turning out, I won't have a chance to come home for a good long while, enjoy it while it lasts."

The room was silent, and Yzak dropped down beside Annora on the couch in defeat.

* * *

"C-Cagalli!" Jona stammered. Cagalli's eyes narrowed into slits, and she punched him in the gut one more time. 

"I'm only going to ask you this one more time," she hissed. "Where are the rest of them? Where is the main base? If you don't tell me, so help me god I will start cutting things off, starting with your balls."

Jona gulped, terrified. "I told you I don't know!" She lifted a knife out of her pocket and flipped it open, while Kira and Athrun held him down. "Stop! STOP! They're 40 miles northeast of JOSH-A!" He slumped and started sobbing.

"You're all talk, Saran," Athrun muttered, releasing the sniveling fool. "Let's go, leave this bastard to rot here." He left the cell, with Cagalli and Kira following behind. "We'll need to call Yzak immediately, hand me your cell phone Cagalli," Athrun held out his hand.

"What is it?" Yzak snapped into the phone, rolling off of a disappointed Annora.

"Saran's told us where they are, we need to leave immediately," Athrun's voice replied.

"Could this not have waited until the morning, baka? I was busy," he huffed.

"No, wrap up your little session and get back to Eternal."

Sighing, Yzak flipped the phone closed and looked back to his lover. "Looks like it's time to go." As he got out of bed, the phone rang again, this time it was Lacus. "Yes?"

"Yzak, I'm adding one more to your team, he'll be on the Eternal by now," she replied.

"And this person is?"

"Shinn Asuka."

"Fine." Groaning, he flipped the phone closed again and hastily pulled his boxers back on. "As if Athrun wasn't enough, now I get to baby-sit that brat Shinn," he muttered under his breath.

"We're adding Destiny to our ranks? Isn't that a little overpowered for a simple search and destroy mission?" Annora queried, pulling her shirt on over her head. Yzak shrugged in response. "It just seems a bit much, I mean we already have Kira Yamato, do we really need another pilot?"

"What Lacus wants, Lacus gets," Yzak grunted. Pulling his jacket on, he started towards the door. "I'll meet you in the car," he called back to her before slamming the door shut.

* * *

Ruby red eyes scanned over the mobile suits currently docked on the Eternal. "Strike Freedom, Infinite Justice," the boy whispered. He ran a hand through his unruly black hair, and sighed. He never thought he would have to meet up with them again, Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala. He cringed at the thought of the inevitable meeting, and left the hangar to wait in the briefing room. 


	6. Captured

Good evening, here's one more chapter. Unfortunately I can only write so much each night, this isn't my computer. My own won't get here for another few days, but you can rest assured there will be tons more writing when I don't have to share a computer with 2 other people. ;) For the record, any Canadians who are thinking of moving in the near future, don't move with Atlas Vanlines (AMJ Campbell), I arrived here on June 25th, it is now July 23rd and my stuff still isn't here, and they said it wouldn't be until the 29th. /sigh

I'll be uploading a few pictures I've drawn around next week, and I'll link them on my profile so you're free to check them out. I have a few already on my MSN Space. Anyway, onwards to the story!

* * *

Athrun walked silently through the corridors of the Eternal, ever since that night he had taken her to Yzak's room he'd been unable to get her out of his mind. Her twinkling laugh, those dazzling green eyes, she plagued his dreams. He had even caught himself thinking about her while he made love to Cagalli, and he was ashamed of himself. _Kuso_, he cursed in his mind. _Why? Why can't I stop thinking about her? _Closing his eyes, he shook his head violently, attempting to dislodge her image from his mind. When he opened them again, she was standing directly in front of him, her curls were dripping and she was clad only in a simple white tank-top and shorts. 

"Evening Athrun!" she said happily.

"Ah, good evening lieutenant," he murmured.

"You seem so upset about something, would you like to talk? I make a fantastic listener," she winked at him, taking his hand and leading him to the nearest window seat. She sat, patting the space next to her, so Athrun dropped down beside her.

"I… I'm just thinking," he said quietly.

"About? Come on, you can't keep your emotions bottled up inside. Plus, we're friends, aren't we?" she asked, staring at him with those deep green eyes.

"Yes, I suppose we are now, I've just never been good with talking about my… ah, issues," he replied. His eyes wandered down her body, imagining what she would look like without the clothing. Silently cursing himself he screwed his eyes shut, blushing slightly.

"It's okay to show vulnerability around me, I know what losing your parents and friends in war is like. I understand your pain, Athrun," she whispered, her words eliciting a strange feeling inside of Athrun. "I lost both of my parents in the last war, and I miss them terribly."

Athrun opened his eyes to look into hers, "I'm very sorry." Before he could stop himself, he pulled her face to his and kissed her. Her lips were soft, and her smell was sweet. Athrun licked along her bottom lip, loving the taste of her.

"A-Athrun," she gasped, breaking the kiss and pushing him away from her. "You can't… we can't… I love Yzak!"

"And why can't you love me?" he whispered, his voice thick with desire. She opened her mouth to reply, but closed it as soon as she sighted Yzak striding toward them. She shot Athrun a pleading look, and then stood to greet Yzak.

"What were you two doing?" he asked suspiciously.

"Annora had a question about Justice, we were talking," Athrun stated.

"Is that so?" Yzak raised an eyebrow, and then shrugged. "I was on my way to bed, I would suggest you two do the same shortly." He planted a quick kiss on Annora's cheek, and continued down the corridor.

"Annora, I…"

"Don't, don't even apologise for it. As far as I'm concerned, nothing happened. For your sake, I'd suggest you think the same way," she said cautiously, and then turned to follow Yzak. Athrun reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her in close to his face.

"You are in every thought I have," he breathed into her ear. "I just thought you should know that." Releasing her, he spun on his heel and stalked away from her, leaving her dazed.

"Now what was _that_ all about?" Shinn asked, coming up behind Annora.

"Nothing… good night, Asuka," she said calmly, briskly walking away.

* * *

Yzak slept silently beside Annora, his arms wrapped around her. She however lay awake, mulling over what had happened earlier that night. Just what in the hell possessed Athrun to do something so foolish? He knew about her relationship with Yzak better than anyone else on the ship, he was the one she went to for advice. _Thank god Yzak didn't see a thing_, she thought, relieved. Turning over in his arms to face him, she watched him as he slept. His normally scowling face was serene in slumber, his silver hair falling into his eyes. Brushing a few strands from his face, she smiled. "I love you," she whispered to him, barely audible. 

"I would ask that you stop staring at me while I sleep, but you seem to enjoy it," he whispered right back to her.

"Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she said apologetically. His mouthed turned upwards in a grin, and his silvery blue eyes opened. Without warning, his lips were on hers, kissing her passionately.

"And I…" he fought with his mind, determined to tell her. "I… love you." He had never said it to anyone before, not even his own mother, but this red-headed soldier had bewitched his heart.

"Oh Yzak," she sniffled, tears dropping on to the pillow below them. His kissed her again, licking the salty tears off of her lips, then pulled her closer to him and lay her head on his chest. She fell asleep shortly after that, and it was Yzak's turn to watch her sleep, he smiled happily. He'd never felt content before, but now he truly understood what it meant to love.

* * *

"All pilots please report to your units," a voice blared through the ship. Annora rolled out of bed, groggy. It appeared as though Yzak had already left, she suddenly felt a twinge of disappointment, she loved watching him dress himself. Pulling on her piloting suit, she shook her hair out. "No time to brush it," she said to herself. Lifting her helmet from the chair, she ran out of the room and down to the hangar. By the time she got there, all of the other units were ready to launch. 

"You're late," Yzak shouted down to her.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry." She entered her cockpit, turning the machine on. It booted up perfectly, and she moved toward the launch tube. "What are we fighting?"

"New units we've never seen before," Kira replied. "We have every reason to believe they are being piloted by these new-type extended pilots, be on guard."

One by one the mobile suits shot out of the Eternal, hers was the last one to launch. She quickly caught sight of one of the enemy units, it was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Serenity hurtled towards it, shooting with its beam rifle. The enemy dodged every shot, and flew directly for her, pulling out its beam sabre. Annora barely had time to block the attack before it kicked her unit down.

"Bastard," she hissed. Righting Serenity, she pulled out her two sabres and flew full speed at the unit above her. Her first attack was blocked, but with her free arm she sliced off the head of the enemy gundam. Pushing it away from her, she sliced off its right arm, and went in for another attack, but was stopped by a shot that narrowly missed her cockpit. Searching for where the shot had come from, she failed to see the unit flying toward her.

"Annora!" Shinn cried out over the radio.

Reacting immediately, she did a barrel roll down into the ocean to avoid the oncoming attack. Breaking free from the water, she rose into the air, and four enemy units greeted her. "Fuck," she cursed. They all came for her, and she dodged, flying at full speed to retreat back to the ship, but was cut off by an enormous impact on the back of her unit.

Yzak turned, searching frantically for Serenity, and then he spotted her. She was falling to the ocean, five units going after her. "Cover her!" he screamed. He fired at one of the mobile suits, it fell to the water and blew into pieces.

Annora got a hold of her unit again, and turned it over, firing at the mobile suits above her. Two more exploded, and she laughed triumphantly. As she went to shoot at the last two remaining, a beam ripped through one of Serenity's arms. Before she could understand what was happening, Serenity's legs were blown off, and she fell into the ocean. The impact rocked her, and she smashed her head on to the console; her world turned black.

Yzak flew to her rescue, but was too late. He watched as her unit crashed into the sea below in disbelief. On the brink of hysteria, he pulled out his beam sword and flew into the remaining mobile suits around her, something snapping inside of him again.

Dearka watched in amazement as Yzak rampaged through the air, destroying everything he came in contact with. He'd only ever seen Yamato fight like that before, what was going on? "Yzak, what are you doing?" There was no reply.

After the last enemy unit had been dispatched, Yzak flew into the ocean, desperately searching for Serenity's cockpit. The water was full of mobile suit pieces, and he couldn't spot her cockpit. "Annora. Annora, come in. Annora, do you read me!" he cried out hysterically.

"What's going on?" Kira asked.

"It would appear that Serenity has been shot down," Dearka replied calmly.

"No way," Athrun whispered. He had fought in many battles with the enigmatic young girl, and her skill always surprised him. For her to be shot down… there was something wrong here. Going under the water, he looked frantically for her unit, where could it have gone?

Clutched in the arms of an underwater mobile suit, Serenity's cockpit moved rapidly away from the battle area. Inside Annora sat unconscious with blood running down her forehead, Yzak's voice screaming for her to respond on the radio, but she couldn't escape the darkness.

"Yzak," Dearka barked.

"What!" Yzak demanded.

"We've been searching for an hour, it's time to go back to the Eternal, she is MIA," he replied.

"No!" Athrun cried. "We can't just give up on her like that, there's no way she could be…"

"Dearka is right," Shinn interjected. "We should all return to the Eternal and get some rest before searching for her again. She's a red-coat, she'll know how to survive."

"…Fine," Yzak whispered, tears rolling down his face. The first woman he had ever loved, and he let her get shot down. _She has to be alive, she has to._

* * *

Yzak lay on his bed, clutching Annora's favourite teddy bear to him. They had just returned from their third search for her, and there was still no sign of her cockpit. 

"_Get over her," Dearka said coldly. "We've looked everywhere, she was destroyed in combat. The sooner you accept it, the better."_

Yzak had slapped his best friend of many years across the face for that comment. They didn't find her cockpit, which meant it had been removed from the scene. She had been captured, taken prisoner and who knew what horrors were being visited upon her, he had to rescue her. Rising from his bed and wiping his eyes, he left his quarters to assemble the team in the briefing room.

Athrun, Kira, Shinn, and Dearka sat in the cafeteria together, utter silence blanketing the room. Shinn was the first to break the silence, "Do you suppose she was really killed?"

"No," Kira and Athrun replied at the same time, looking at one another.

"How can you be certain of that?" Dearka asked.

"There was no sign of her cockpit," Athrun started.

"Which means it was taken," Kira finished. "If she had truly been killed, we would have found her remains. No, there's no way she was killed."

"Isn't it odd how the majority of the enemy team targeted her? It was like they were ordered to capture her," Shinn mused, his ruby eyes narrowed in thought.

"You're right," Kira replied quietly. He closed his violet eyes, the image of Annora working at her unit filling his mind. He sighed heavily, planting his face into his hand. If he hadn't been so focused on the units in front of him, he could have saved her. If he had been paying attention to the whole field, he could have prevented her ever being shot down. His eyes drifted over to his blue-haired friend, who was sitting silently with his eyes screwed shut. Kira had been surprised by how hard Athrun had taken the disappearance of Annora, it was almost as if…

"Good, you're all here," Yzak said. "We need to find out where she's being held, and we need to rescue her. Athrun and Shinn, I want you two to search for any trace of a base nearby. The minute you find anything, you tell us, and the rest of us will launch. You leave in three hours, and the rest of you will be on standby."

* * *

Groaning, Annora awoke, her head throbbing. She forced her eyes open, and winced as the bright light hit her pupils. Squinting, she surveyed the room she was in. It seemed to be a medical facility, but whose? 

"I see you're awake now," a woman's voice said.

"Where am I?" she asked quietly.

"You're on a ship called Genesis, and I am the commander. You may call me Petrine," the woman replied.

"Petrine?" Annora asked, something tugging at her subconscious. Why was that name so familiar? Where had she heard it before?

"I regret to inform you, my pretty little guest, that you are a prisoner, and this is a Logos ship. While I will do my best to make sure you are treated civilly, I can't guarantee anything," Petrine shrugged. "I have no desire to see a young girl, coordinator or not, be abused."

"Logos? What…" Annora's mind was reeling in shock. She had been captured, she was a coordinator in the hands of Logos. Suddenly desperate to escape, she attempted to sit up, only to realise she was strapped to the bed. Suddenly it hit her, Petrine was the name of the woman who had freed the Logos prisoners. "What do you want with me?" she asked.

"I don't want anything with you, but the leader would like to see you, and so I captured you. You've no need to stare at me in fear like that girl, I am not your enemy. Indeed, you'll come to see that I am one of the only people in this army with compassion." Petrine rose, and left the room.

"Yzak," Annora whispered. She suddenly felt so helpless, was he looking for her? Would he rescue her? "Please let him come for me, please." Tears dropped from her eyes, and she again tried to escape, railing against the straps that bound her to no avail. She screamed in anger and fear, struggling to be free.


	7. Isaiah

Mmm, Tazo Tangerine Tea from Starbucks, try it if you haven't already! Though I strongly recommend the Blackberry Green Tea Frappucino, yum yum. Good news, my stuff gets here tomorrow, more writing for you!

Story time.

* * *

The door to the infirmary of Genesis opened, and a tall handsome man entered. He was dressed in a brown three piece suit, and a navy blue tie. His eyes were dark blue, and his hair was shoulder-length and silver. Annora shook her head in confusion, this man was a spitting image of Yzak Jule. 

"The mobile suit pilot known as O'Connor, this is truly an honour," the man said, his voice was almost hypnotic. "Imagine my surprise when Lady Petrine told me my own brother's ace-pilot had been captured." His lips parted in a smile that sent chills down Annora's spine.

"Brother? Who are you?" she asked.

"No doubt you've noticed the striking similarities between us, I was the first-born twin," his smiled widened. "My name is Isaiah Jule."

"Yzak's brother? How is that possible? He never told me he had a brother," Annora muttered.

"To make a long story short, he was never told about me. I was abducted as a baby, and my mother," he spat the word, " chose to keep it quiet and out of the media. I was brought up by the Arian family, and I was told in my teenage years of my true heritage."

"But if you're Ezaria Jule's son, then that means you're a coordinator, right?" Isaiah inclined his head in agreement, so she pressed on, "Logos exists to eradicate our kind from the world, why would you stay with them after learning that you were a coordinator?"

"That answer is simple," he replied smoothly. "However, it is not for you to know, Miss O'Connor. Now I have a few questions for you, if you would be so kind as to answer them." He bent down to release her from her bonds, and helped her sit up. He felt like Yzak, he smelled like Yzak, he looked like Yzak, could this truly be happening?

"Ask away, I can't guarantee I can answer everything, but I will return the civility you've shown me thus far," she said, rubbing the bruises on her arms from her earlier struggles. Isaiah inclined his head in thanks, and offered her a cup of water, which she accepted gratefully.

"I know the ship you were on is called the Eternal, and I know you have war veterans like Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala onboard. What I would like to know is how many more ships are on their way to Alaska right now?" he questioned her, his blue eyes calm.

"As far as I know, no more ships have been sent to aid us. Chairwoman Clyne believes the command of Yzak Jule and power of Strike Freedom will be enough," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Is that so? A bit pretentious of Lacus Clyne, is it not? And now for some personal questions, I'm afraid I know next-to-nothing about you, my dear." He slowly moved his body closer to her, seating himself on her bed. "How old are you? How long have you been in ZAFT?"

"I'm 19 years old, and I've been a full-fledged soldier for one year next month," Annora replied.

"What manner of relationship do you hold with Yzak?" he asked.

"We… we're lovers," she whispered.

"So I had assumed," he murmured, running his fingertips lightly down her arm, making her shiver. "I must say, my brother dearest has impeccable taste, you are quite breathtaking. And since you two are, ah, _lovers_," he whispered the word quietly, "then I would be right in assuming he'll be coming for you, no?" His hand moved to her face, and he curled a few strands of her hair through his fingers.

"Yes, he will come for me," she said quietly.

"And will you come for me?" he breathed in her ear.

"W-what?" she gasped. Isaiah placed a finger to her lips, and nipped at her earlobe. Her body reacted the same way it did whenever Yzak did that to her. "No, please, you're not Yzak," she whispered, arousal apparent in her voice. Isaiah brushed his lips along her cheek, and then smirked at her.

"How long will you hold out for him when one nibble was all it took to arouse you?" he asked, clearly amused. "I do not believe you will be a threat to our ship, should you need an escort to any of the facilities, simply ask for me. You will find clothing in the closet to your right, and you have a tray of food on the desk over there. If you'll excuse me, madam, I must be going." He flashed another quick smile at her, and left the room.

Annora hugged herself, shaking uncontrollably. That man, he was so much like Yzak, yet completely different at the same time. "What the fuck is going on?" she whispered to herself.

* * *

"_Annora," Yzak moaned, pushing himself deeper inside of her._

"_Oh Isaiah," she whispered, running her nails across Yzak's back._

He woke with a start, sweat dripping down his forehead. What the hell kind of dream was that? Who was Isaiah? Glancing over at the clock, he noticed it was 4:30am. Sighing, he pushed himself out of bed and walked into the bathroom. Turning the tap on the sink, he splashed some cold water on his face, then looked into the mirror. His silver hair was dripping, his blue eyes were once again bloodshot. He hadn't managed to get any sleep since she was shot down, his old nightmares plagued him once more, and new ones now as well. Every time he closed his eyes, he relived the horror of Serenity's defeat.

Yzak growled in anger, and his fist went through the mirror, shattering it. Pulling back his hand, he picked out the pieces of glass from his knuckles, tears of frustration running down his cheeks. It had been two weeks since her disappearance, and they still hadn't found her. "I'm sorry I've failed you," he whispered, sinking down to the floor. Her smiling face flashed into his mind, and his shoulders started shuddering with his sobs. Blood ran down his hand and arm, tears flowed freely down his face, his features were contorted in complete physical and emotional anguish.

Dearka watched silently from the door as his friend cried his heart out on the bathroom floor. He'd never seen Yzak in such pain before, he was always so emotionally guarded, expressing only anger. Now here he was sobbing on his bathroom floor, Dearka felt a lump rise in his throat, his eyes brimming with tears. He moved in quietly, and placed a hand on Yzak's shoulder. "We're going to find her, and she's going to be fine," he whispered. Yzak turned his face up to Dearka, then embraced his friend fiercely, a new wave of sobs wracking his body.

* * *

"Athrun, wait up!" Kira called out, running down the hall after his friend. Athrun stopped momentarily, giving Kira time to catch up to him, and then resumed his walking. "Did you hear? They found an unknown ship, we're heading for it right now, she might be on it!" 

"I heard," Athrun said quietly.

"Is that why you're walking toward the hangar so fast?" Kira questioned.

"Hai, that is precisely it. We need to save her," he replied.

"I uh… I have a question for you," Kira said uncertainly, and Athrun inclined his head. "Since she went missing, you've been harder to find than Yzak-sama. From the looks of it, I'd say you haven't been sleeping much or eating."

"And?" Athrun asked impatiently.

"Are you… I mean do you like her?" Kira studied Athrun's face, noting the surprised expression.

"No. Err, what I mean to say is I don't think of her that way, if that's what you're asking. I love Cagalli," he stated, but it sounded almost forced. Kira shrugged, accepting Athrun's answer for now, he knew better than to press any issue Athrun was uncomfortable talking about. The two friends made their way to their separate units, and got ready to launch. Kira watched as Yzak ran full tilt into the hangar, scrambling into his Gouf and heading for the launch pad, Dearka not far behind.

"Kira Yamato, Strike Freedom, ikkimasu!"

* * *

"This is Commander Yzak Jule of the ZAFT ship Eternal, unknown vessel identify yourself. I repeat, this is Commander Yzak Jule of the ZAFT ship Eternal requesting you to identify yourself immediately." 

"What do we do?" a crewman asked.

"Shoot them down, send out the mobile suit squad," Isaiah replied. "If at all possible, I would like you to capture the ZAFT pilots alive, preferably unharmed."

"Yes sir!"

Isaiah stroked his chin in thought, considering replying to Yzak Jule. He grinned, "Open a channel with the enemy commander." The crewman did so, and he cleared his throat. "Greetings Commander Yzak Jule of the ZAFT battleship Eternal. I am General Isaiah Jule, currently commanding the Logos ship Genesis."

"Nani?" Yzak's confused voice replied.

"Your confusion is delicious, my dear brother, but I regret to inform you that regardless of how much I would love to catch up with you, my mobile suit squadron is currently approaching you for battle. I'll be sure to let that beautiful young girl pilot know that you stopped by, though!" Isaiah ended the transmission and left the bridge.

"Oi Yzak, what the hell was that about?" Dearka asked.

"I… don't know, but they have Annora onboard. Destroy the enemy mobile suits, and disable that ship's engines," he ordered. All five mobile suits sped toward the enemy, decimating the enemy force as they headed for the ship.

"Kira, cover me, I'm going for the ship," Athrun said.

"Hai, go Athrun," Kira replied, firing off multiple beams in standard Kira-fashion.

"Arigatou," Athrun thanked his friend, speeding off toward Genesis. Taking out his beam sword, he flew directly to the engine of the massive battleship, and destroyed it in a few strokes; Genesis slowed to a complete stop.

* * *

Annora sat up, excitement filling her as she felt the ship's engine shudder and die. "Yzak," she whispered lovingly. Her door slid open, Isaiah stepping in. 

"Well, it would appear you were right about my brother coming for you," he said nonchalantly. "This ship is no match for the might of Justice, Freedom, and Destiny. They've already disabled the main engine, making it a sitting duck. However, if you would just make your way to the hangar with me, we can escape." He smiled sweetly at her, offering his hand to her.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, I'm staying here until Yzak comes for me," she said, crossing her arms in defiance.

"Oh my, is that so? And do you think I'm going to let you stay here while I escape? No my little Irish flower, you're coming with me, whether you'll be unconscious or not is entirely your decision." He moved his hand closer to her, staring at her calmly with those eyes, Yzak's eyes. She slapped his hand away, and jumped out of the bed, punching him square in the jaw. He staggered back, surprised by her speed. Before he could collect himself, she delivered a spin-kick to his midriff which knocked him clear across the room. Coughing, he got back on his feet, readying himself for the next attack which came in seconds. He caught her arm, spinning her around. "Now that," he panted, "was not nice."

"Fuck you," she spat at him, twirling out of his grasp and delivering a kick to the side of his head. Isaiah fell to the floor unconscious just as the door opened once more, this time revealing the _real_ Yzak Jule. "You came for me!" she cried out. Yzak's eyes dropped to the man on the floor, and then moved to her. He pulled her into his arms, and started sobbing.

"I thought you were hurt," he sniffled. "I thought I'd never find you again." Annora smiled, and wiped his tears away for him.

"You should know by now that I know how to take care of myself, Yzak," she murmured, kissing his cheek. "Help me tie this fucker up now, he's got one wild story I think you should hear," she said, breaking away from Yzak's embrace.

"He looks like me," Yzak whispered.

"I know, he claims to be your long-lost twin brother. Now hurry, grab his feet," she ordered. They picked up Isaiah, carrying him to the hangar. Annora stopped dead, in front of them stood Serenity, completely whole and repaired. "Wow," she breathed.

"Give him to me. I'll take him into my Gouf, you get in Serenity and get back to Eternal," Yzak commanded, slinging Isaiah over his shoulder. Annora climbed into her unit and flew out of Genesis at break-neck speed, greeting the other pilots as she passed them. Yzak set the strange man down behind the seat in his cockpit, then followed Annora out of the ship.

* * *

Isaiah opened his eyes slowly, silently cursing Annora for his splitting headache. He hadn't expected her to be so quick, he underestimated her military training, which was a gargantuan mistake. He scanned his surroundings, noticing he was in a medical facility. "How ironic," he croaked. "The captor is now the captured." Laughing at his own misfortune, he sat up slowly, putting a hand to the side of his head where a noticeable lump greeted him. Flinching, he turned to the door where a young man stood. He had blue hair and emerald eyes, his face was expressionless. "Athrun Zala, I presume?" 

"Hai, and you must be the one who claimed to be named Isaiah Jule," Athrun replied, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Claim? I am what I am, Zala. Why would I lie about something so absurd?" Isaiah stated calmly.

"Who knows? I stopped trusting the word of enemies long ago." Athrun frowned a little, his eyes travelling over Isaiah. He looked almost exactly like Yzak, how could this be?

"Where is my dear brother? I so wish to speak with him," Isaiah said, smiling at Athrun. "We've not seen each other in 20 years."

"He is presently unable to be here, but I am here. I'd suggest not trying anything foolish," Athrun answered.

"I wouldn't dream of it. I know all about you, Athrun Zala, and I am not so stupid as to cross you," he replied smoothly. "Now then, where's that scrumptious little Irish beauty? I've a few words to say to her. Ah, no, don't tell me, I believe I already know. She must be with Yzak doing things I would dare not speak of in polite company." He laughed, laying back on the bed. Athrun cast his gaze down to his feet, uncomfortable with the thought of Annora with another man.

"Stay quiet until Yzak is here," Athrun commanded. "I am in no mood for silly small talk."

"Okay boss," Isaiah replied, shrugging uncaringly. He studied the quiet young man, interested by him. He had always wanted to meet other coordinators, and now he was on a ship full of them. _Be careful what you wish for, it might come true_, he thought solemnly. _But perhaps this will turn out in my favour after all, they will no doubt take me back to PLANT. If I pretend I was being used by Logos, they will most likely feel sympathy. Oh yes, this could be good indeed._


	8. Past Loves

Just thought I'd share an interesting tidbit with you. I listen to the Gundam SEED OSTs when writing, it helps me imagine things playing out in my head like an actual anime. Yeah, I'm quite the nerd. ;)

If you haven't already, you should check out RedAngel06's Gundam SEED story entitled Destiny Child. It's about Athrun Zala's long lost sister, Alix Zala. Really quite a fantastic story from a very creative girl. I'm acting as her editor at the moment, but it was her story that gave me the inspiration I needed to write my own.

I brought a certain someone back, I could never quite accept his death to begin with, not someone like him. Without further ado, here is the next chapter. Note: Athalia is a Hebrew female name, it means "The Lord is Mighty," so I'm not just pulling names out of my ass. I swear.

* * *

A young man sat quietly on a beach along the coast of Onogoro Island, the waves gently lapping at his feet. The breeze ruffled his short green hair, and his light brown eyes were cast out across the ocean. _Why am I here? What is my purpose? _He gingerly ran his fingers along his forearm, counting all of the needle marks. He thought back to his time spent in the lab, the pain, the horror, and the suffering. He had awoken one day 5 years ago in some kind of medical facility, faceless scientists all around. A year ago, he had escaped and managed to find shelter in ORB, but his inability to remember his past haunted him daily. 

"Nick?" a young girl called out down the beach. The young man lifted his head in the direction of the voice, pulling his sleeve back down his arm to hide the scars. Smiling, he stood and brushed the sand from his pants. The girl ran into his arms, her dark blue hair flying about wildly. "You promised me that we would go to the movies tonight, you know."

"Ah, I know, but it was such a lovely evening that I wanted to spend it on the beach. I was secretly hoping that you'd come join me, Athalia," he said with a smile, looking into those beautiful bright green eyes of hers. For some unknown reason, he felt drawn to this girl. Something about her appearance, and even her name, sparked strange feelings deep within himself, almost as if there was something he should remember. "Come on, let's sit here and watch the sunset together."

"That sounds nice… But you're still not off the hook, you owe me a movie, Nick. Plus, I gotta get going, my mom said I had to be home in 15 minutes." They sat together, hand in hand, watching the sky change colours for a few minutes, and then she left him there alone.

Nick, it was what the scientists had called him, he didn't know if it was his real name or not, but it was all he had to go by. He'd managed to get a job as a maintenance technician for Morgenroete, but it was the mobile suits that held his interest. They felt like home to him, and he just couldn't understand why.

_Who am I? What am I?_

* * *

"Back once more to Onogoro Island," Annora sighed. 

"It would seem that way," Athrun whispered. He stood behind her on the beach, longing to hold her. She looked lovely with the setting sun behind her, the light bouncing off of her curls making her hair seem as if it were on fire. Each passing day made it more difficult for him to control himself, and now she acted as though nothing had ever happened between the two of them. Sometimes he just felt like shaking her, and screaming… "I love you," he whispered.

"Did I ever tell you about my first kiss?" she asked, smiling at Athrun.

"Ah, no, I don't believe you did," Athrun said in reply.

"It was with someone you knew well. Him and I, we were engaged you know, it was something our parents had decided for us. Much like you and Lacus Clyne." Annora closed her eyes, imagining that first kiss once more.

"Who was it?" Athrun questioned her.

"Nicol Amarfi," she whispered, her eyes gazing into Athrun's. "It was awkward, but he was the sweetest boy. I was only 13 at the time, and he took me over to his piano where he played this haunting melody, I hear it in my dreams sometimes still. He said I was beautiful, and then he kissed me. I think that deep down, you never stop loving your first love." A tear rolled slowly down her cheek at the memory.

_"Annie, come with me. I want to show you something," Nicol said, taking her hand in his. He led her into the largest room in his house, it was bright and beautiful. In the middle of the room stood a black baby grand piano, which Nicol took a seat at, smiling at her. "This is a song I just composed, I want you to be the first to hear it. I think it mirrors your beauty." His long fingers flowed effortlessly over the keys, and the song was so lovely that by the end of it, Annora was in tears._

"_Oh Nicol, that was incredible," she whispered, truly awed by his talent.  
_

_He stood, and pulled her in close to his face. Smiling at her awkwardly, he closed his eyes, placing his lips on to hers._

"_I think we'll be happy together," he whispered to her._

"Oh Athrun, isn't it beautiful? Look at the colours in the sky," Annora pointed toward the horizon, desperate to get the memory out of her mind.

"Absolutely breathtaking," he replied, his eyes never leaving her. Sighing, he finally tore his eyes away from her and started down the beach, waving meekly at Yzak as he passed him. _Get a hold of yourself,_ he berated himself. He walked for what seemed like an eternity, kicking the sand as he went along, feeling betrayed by his own heart. She had loved Nicol, and now she loved Yzak, he wanted to stop thinking about her. That curly red hair, those deep green eyes, her soft pink lips… When he finally decided to look around to get his bearings, his eyes stopped on a young man a few feet from him.

Nick turned his head, noticing the blue-haired man standing by him. There was something… He'd seen this man before, but when? Suddenly their eyes met, and something clicked in his head.

"Nicol?" Athrun whispered, his eyes wide, and his heart pounding. This guy looked exactly like Nicol, every bit of him. From the slim body, to the short wavy green hair, and the eyes… Those eyes were Nicol's. Suddenly he ran forward, stopping inches away from the Nicol look-alike.

"A-Athrun?" the boy replied. He knew this guy, he knew him, but he couldn't understand how. "Ah, I… I know you," Nicol said quietly. "Err, I think." He suddenly felt the large scar on his chest, something tugging at the corners of his mind. Athrun reached his hand out, touching Nicol's face lightly.

"Nicol Amarfi?" Athrun questioned him, his eyes staring into Nicol's own intensely. Nicol nodded his head slightly, but his eyes were full of confusion.

"You… died," Athrun replied. "I saw you die… How are you alive? Kira, he killed you, I watched Blitz explode right in front of my eyes." He started backing away slowly, suddenly terrified, he _heard_ Nicol die. Was it possible that he had survived? An overwhelming feeling of guilt winded Athrun, nearly knocking him over. If this was truly Nicol, then the fight between him and Kira had been for nothing, and the death of Kira's friend… "Oh my god," he choked.

"There's Athrun!" Annora's voice called out in the distance. His eyes widened at the sight of Yzak and Annora running towards him. "We've been looking everywhere for you," Annora panted as she stopped in front of him. "You're a hard guy to follow. Chairwoman Clyne is here, on Onogoro Island, she wanted all of us to meet her for dinner."

"I… uh… right, we shouldn't keep Lacus waiting," Athrun whispered, looking back at Nicol who was now staring intently at Yzak.

"What were you doing over here anyway, Athrun?" Yzak asked, barely noticing the boy sitting on the sand.

"Yzak?" Nicol said slowly, some short memories flashing through his mind. Yzak yelling at him, Yzak making fun of him… he knew this guy too.

"Nan-" Yzak stopped short, realising who the boy on the sand was. "Nicol? How…?"

"I don't know," Nicol replied, his eyes wandering over to Annora. It all hit him at once, his song, her kiss, his parents, his team mates, his friendship with Athrun, and his defeat at the hands of Strike. Clutching his chest, he fought desperately to keep the hysteria away.

Annora dropped to her knees, absolutely shocked. Not half an hour ago she had just thought about him, now here he was. "Nicol?" she whispered, making Yzak glance over at her questioningly. "Is that… really you?" Their eyes met, and Annora fainted.

* * *

"Oh, but this is terrific news Athrun! Nicol Amarfi is alive, can you imagine what joy this will bring his parents?" Lacus said excitedly. 

Annora opened her eyes, groaning at the sudden change in light. How long had she been out? "Yzak?" she whispered.

"Oh, you're awake Annora-san. Yzak-taichou had to step out, but I'm here if you need anything," Lacus offered, smiling sweetly.

"What happened? Did I hit my head?" she asked quietly, rubbing her head.

"No, you fainted after seeing Nicol," Athrun replied.

"So it wasn't a dream then, that was really Nicol?" She sat up, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Yes, it's really me," Nicol answered. He grinned awkwardly at her, "It's been a while, Annie."

Annora took deep breaths, attempting to stay calm. Her fiancée was alive, and standing right in front of her. She shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself. What was going on? First Logos, then Isaiah Jule, and now Nicol Amarfi? Was it all connected in some way? She shook her head in complete and utter confusion, feeling as though she was somehow cursed.

"Ah, uh, Lacus," Athrun broke the silence. "There's something… disturbing that I've yet to report to you. Perhaps if we could speak in private?"

"We're among friends, Athrun. You may report to me here," Lacus retorted.

"Very well then, as you know we found the Logos ship that was holding Lieutenant O'Connor prisoner." Nicol's eyes widened at that statement. "But what you don't know is that it wasn't just Annora we found, we found Yzak's… err, well his twin brother."

"Twin?" Lacus breathed.

"Yes, chairwoman. His name is Isaiah Jule, and he's currently under heavy guard onboard the Eternal," Annora said. "There's no mistaking it, he looks almost exactly like Yzak." She thought back to the way he had touched her on the Genesis and shivered.

"Is that so? I would like to meet with this man," Lacus replied, deep in thought.

* * *

Nicol waited for Athrun and Lacus to leave the room, and then sat beside Annora on the couch. He twiddled his thumbs in anxiety, not sure what to say to her. He had been "dead" to her for five years, it was probably foolish of him to hope she still felt anything for him, or that she was still faithful to him. He looked her over, marvelling at the way she had matured. "Your beauty has increased tenfold," he whispered. 

"Nicol, I-" she was cut off by his kiss, those gentle lips on hers. Nicol's arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer to him, kissing her deeper. Oh, how she had missed him, missed his touch. His touch… Yzak! "Nicol, stop. We can't, I belong to someone else."

"Who? Is it Athrun?" he asked, his eyes full of pain.

"No, it's not Athrun," she replied.

"Dearka?"

"No, I love Yzak Jule," she whispered, casting her eyes down to her lap. "You were dead, and I became part of ZAFT. Lacus had me transferred to Yzak's team, and he…"

Yzak leaned against the door, listening in confusion.

"I understand, you don't need to explain it to me. It was selfish of me to think you would… wait for me," he said barely above a whisper. "It was your face that made me remember, your eyes. I was lost for so long, I didn't know who I was, but you brought me out of the darkness. I still care about you, I always did. That song I composed, it was for you."

"Nicol, I'm so sorry. Please don't think I ever stopped caring about you. When I heard you had died, I thought my world had ended. I enlisted so I could avenge you, but during my training… my parents, they were murdered by Logos, and then I realised that no matter how much fighting I did, and no matter how many people I killed, it would never bring them, and you back to me." Annora sighed heavily, resting her forehead on her hand.

"But why Yzak?" Nicol asked, brushing her hair from her face.

"He was so strong, he had survived both wars, and it seemed like nothing could phase him. He was hard, unforgiving, someone I wanted to become so I couldn't feel the pain anymore. The more I studied him, the more I started to understand… He felt pain, I saw him crying at your grave many times. His callous exterior was just a façade, he was in as much pain as I was. I think it was then that I started to feel protective of him, like I wanted to take away all of his pain, and maybe he could end all of my sorrows. He loves me you know, he truly does," she said with a sad smile.

"And do you truly love him?" Nicol's eyes were brimming with tears.

"I do," she whispered, and tears started rolling down Nicol's cheeks. "But I never stopped loving you, never." She pulled Nicol into her arms, embracing him as he silently wept, her own tears flowing freely now as well.

Yzak closed his eyes, unable to sort out what he was feeling, there were many mixed emotions. Anger for her never telling him about Nicol, empathy for the pain Nicol was feeling, resentment towards Nicol for still having a hold on his girlfriend, guilt for taking someone so important away from his old friend… He wanted to cry and scream all at the same time, would she leave him for Nicol now that he was back from the dead?

* * *

"What's wrong Yzak?" Annora murmured, kissing his neck gently. 

"Do you want to be with Nicol? Tell me truly," he answered, fighting back the emotion that threatened to overwhelm him.

"I did, until I met you. You are my life, Yzak, and I will never leave you," she replied while lightly running her fingers down his chest. "He was my fiancée, my best friend, and my first kiss. I care for him, but not in the same way I care for you. Will that answer suffice, commander?"

"Hai," he whispered in reply.

* * *

-From Yzak's point of view- 

Since I was a young boy, my only goal in life has been to gain power. I wanted to be a powerful man, I wanted to make my deceased father proud of the son he never had a chance to meet. I built up an emotional shield to protect myself from the pain of never having a father, a pain that all of the others I went to school with didn't understand. I appeared rude and arrogant to all around me, and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed having people afraid of me, I enjoyed bullying those who were weaker. I frequently made fun of Nicol, who never tried to defend himself, or exact revenge. He was kind, and he had a strength about him that I felt I could never achieve.

After Kira Yamato had defeated Blitz, I felt like my world was crashing down. I looked up to Nicol, I wanted to understand the strength he possessed, and I wanted to be like him. However, he was destroyed, and I realised then that perhaps kindness was a weakness. Maybe if you cared too much for others, it would eventually kill you. My emotional guard was up once more, and stronger than ever, I could never let anyone in, it would surely kill me.

I had been with many girls in my youth, but I thought nothing of them. They were nothing more than a temporary distraction, a quick way to blow off some steam and get back to work. I never had a problem finding one to sleep with, I had been blessed with my mother's good looks, and I was from a wealthy family. I used them for their bodies, and then I threw them out of my door. Dearka encouraged this behaviour, but after he met that girl Miriallia, his outlook on women changed. I could no longer understand why he was looking for love now, and not just a quick fuck. I didn't know what love was, it was a foreign concept to me, foreign and dangerous.

After the second war, I had watched Lacus Clyne and Kira Yamato's relationship blossom. The way they looked at each other, the way they felt for one another, it made me feel extremely… empty. I felt as though I was missing some part of me, but I couldn't understand what it was. I threw myself into my work, drilling the new recruits, attending meetings with Lacus, maintaining my emotional guard. I was powerful now, I was Lacus Clyne's right-hand, but it didn't feel like it was enough.

Shortly thereafter, Lacus assigned a young girl to my team, a girl I was instantly fascinated with. She was quiet, strong, intelligent, and beautiful. Whenever I was around her, I felt… whole. I quickly fell in love with her, but she had no idea how I felt, and I didn't know how to express my feelings. I was prone to angry outbursts around her, I'd scream and yell, I'd admonish her for any mistakes she made. After a while, I felt it was hopeless, I couldn't tell her, and she probably hated me anyway. When I had accidentally heard her talking to Yamato about me, I felt something new inside of me, hope I think it was. I worked up the nerve to kiss her, and one by one my emotional shields came crashing down.

Now here I am, a lovesick fool, and I have never felt more alive in my life. She completes me, she suppresses the bad in me, and brings out the good. She gives my life meaning, she makes me want to fight for my future… _Our_ future. I've never felt this before, but now that I have it I'm certain I never want to let go of it. And thus, I will ask her to marry me, I know now for sure that she is the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. I know that without her I am nothing, but with her I have a purpose, a reason for living.

The ever callous Yzak Jule is now hopelessly in love with Annora O'Connor, and she's changed me for the better.


	9. Indecent Proposal

I like chicken, yes I do! I like chicken, how about you? Okay, so I didn't get much sleep, but I am in the zone man. I dreamt about this chapter, and now I'm gonna write it. By the way, think of "Annie's Song" as Kanashimi from Gundam SEED OST 1, that's what I imagined.

Chapter, oh em gee.

* * *

Nicol sat at the desk in the room he was given, writing in a blank journal he'd found. 

_Here I sit, painfully obvious of how close I am to Yzak and Annie's room. I can hear them making love right now, and it fills me with an emotion that I never thought I could feel before; rage. I may have lost my memory for five years, but that doesn't mean that I love her any less. If only I had escaped sooner, if only I had remembered earlier, Yzak would have never had a chance. That should be me in that room, I should be the one on top of her, my name should be the one she's calling out. If only there was some way to take her back, Yzak doesn't deserve an angel like her…_

_The scar on my chest has been burning lately, and I've been replaying that day in my head over and over. Athrun was in trouble, Athrun was going to die, I thought if I could just distract Strike, he could escape. It seems he did escape, but no one has told me what happened after that. I know that Lacus Clyne ended the first and second wars, I know that Athrun fought by her side, but why?_

_I was told by Lacus this evening that my parents would be here tomorrow, she promised me that she told them nothing of my survival. What will they say when they see me? Will they recognise me? Will they still love me?_

Nicol sighed heavily, standing up from the desk. He needed a piano, he needed to play, and it was the only way he could calm down. Sneaking quietly out of his room, he tip-toed down the hall to the sitting area, where a large grand piano greeted him. Nicol's face lit up in a bright smile, and he sat down at it, running his fingers along the keys. He started playing the song he had composed for Annie so long ago, his body swaying with the music.

Annora sat up in bed, recognising the song instantly. Her eyes filled with tears, and she slipped out of bed while pulling on her night gown. She left the room quietly, making sure not to disturb Yzak, and walked toward the sound of the piano. Her heart was pounding fiercely, and her eyes were full of tears, did he really still love her that much? She stopped inside of the room where Nicol was sitting at the piano, his body was swaying with the music, and his eyes were closed. She dared to walk closer, stopping just inches away from the piano. His song… No, _her_ song filled her with an indescribable feeling.

The song ended, and Nicol opened his eyes, startled to see Annora standing beside the piano. She had a slip of violet silk covering her body, but it clung to every curve, Nicol exhaled trying to ignore the arousal creeping through his body. "You remembered the song, didn't you?"

"Yes, I heard it sometimes in my dreams," Annora replied in a whisper. "One time on PLANT before this crazy mission started, I heard it being played in Chairwoman Clyne's house. I found the source, but it wasn't you… It was Athrun. He had your sheet music, and he was playing your song, I'm fairly certain he was crying too."

"Athrun," Nicol said quietly, unable to fathom the pain he had gone through.

"He blamed himself for your death. According to Yzak they had fought after you were killed, and Athrun had screamed, 'Say it! It was my fault! He's dead because he tried to save me!' Athrun once told me that he had found your music in your locker, and he kept it with him ever since then. He even learned how to play the piano, to honour your memory." Annora smiled sadly at Nicol, running her hand along the polished wood of the piano.

"I see," Nicol choked out over the lump in his throat.

"They all loved you Nicol, in their own ways. Yzak and Dearka may never admit it, but they cared deeply for you…"

"I have so many questions, so many things I don't understand," Nicol sighed.

"You should ask them in the morning, I don't know much more than you do. Anything I know is second-hand information, and there's certainly a lot more Athrun and Kira haven't told me." She shrugged slightly, removing her hand from the piano.

"Kira?"

"Kira Yamato, the pilot of Strike Freedom," she replied simply.

"Strike… Freedom?" Nicol's scar started burning again, and he winced in pain. Could this Kira Yamato be the pilot of Strike?

"Nicol? What's wrong?" Annora asked worriedly. Nicol was now clutching his chest and gasping for air, suddenly he slid off the bench and on to the floor, unconscious. Annora ran to him, checking for a pulse. "Oh thank god," she breathed. "Yzak!" she cried out. "Athrun!"

They both came running, Yzak with a sheet wrapped around his waist, Athrun in only boxers. Annora blushed slightly at the sight, averting her eyes from Athrun. Athrun's own eyes travelled over her body, amazed by how little her night gown actually hid. _She might as well be naked_, he thought, immediately regretting it. "What's wrong?" Athrun asked.

"Nicol collapsed, I don't know why. The last thing he said was, 'Strike Freedom' and then he was out cold on the floor. I can't carry him myself, I thought you two could take him back to his room," she replied, smiling sweetly at the two of them.

"And here I thought you were in trouble. Had I known it was just Nicol, I would have put some fucking pants on," Yzak grumbled. "Grab his arms Athrun, I'll get his legs." The two lifted the limp Nicol, and carried him back to his room. Yzak left immediately after Nicol was on his bed, but Athrun stayed. He pulled the blankets up around Nicol tucking him in, and smoothed his hair with his hand. Had Nicol made the connection between the Strike and the Freedom?

* * *

_"Subject 15, code-name Nick. As you can see Lady Petrine, the coordinator genetic code is far superior to ours," the man said._

"_Yours you mean, Fukuda. I am a coordinator as well, you know that," Petrine replied, shaking out her long green hair._

"_H-hai, I meant no offence my lady." She shrugged, and Fukuda carried on. "Finding this injured coordinator child was a stroke of luck, really. He's enabled me to further advance our extended drug. This child was the key we needed to replicate the coordinators abilities without manipulating genes."_

"_Good, and what of the boy? Does he have a name? Where did you find him?" she asked, staring at Nicol._

"_He was a ZAFT pilot, the one piloting the stolen Blitz mobile suit. From all records we've managed to find on him, his name is Nicol Amarfi," Fukuda said, pointing at the monitor once more._

"_Amarfi?" Petrine whispered. She'd never imagined she would hear that name again, was her dear brother Yuri alive after all? Was this her nephew? "Fukuda, you need to take good care of this young man, do not let any harm come to him."_

"_My lady?"_

_"Don't ask questions, just do it. Make sure he survives, that's an order," she snapped. She took one last look at Nicol and left the room. Fukuda scratched his head in confusion, what was so important about this Amarfi kid?_

* * *

A knock was heard at the door, Cagalli decided to answer it herself. She waved her butler away and yanked the front door open, there stood Yuri and Romina Amarfi. "Ah, please come in, we're so glad you could make it here on such short notice," Cagalli said, bowing at her guests. 

"I must admit, I was shocked to hear your voice on the phone last night, Representative Athha," Yuri said with a light chuckle.

"Oh, but we're so very honoured to have been invited here!" Romina finished for her husband.

"Of course we are, dear. This is definitely a surprise, but a welcome one. We rarely get the chance to come to Earth, I had almost forgotten what the sea smelled like," Yuri replied with a smile.

"It was actually Athrun's idea," Cagalli said. "He has something amazing to show you, something you'll surely love. Please, take a seat, make yourselves comfortable. I'll have one of the servants bring you some tea." Cagalli flashed them a quick smile, and took off running up the stairs.

"Athrun? What is it he could want to show us?" Romina asked, Yuri shrugged in response.

"Athrun, they're here," Cagalli panted as she burst into Nicol's room. "They're downstairs in the parlour right now, they have no idea…"

"Good," Athrun replied. "Are you ready to see your parents Nicol?" A weak nod was all Nicol could manage, it all felt like a dream to him. He could feel Athrun pulling him up and leading him down the stairs, but he couldn't really respond to it.

"Oh look Yuri, there's Athrun!" Romina exclaimed happily, waving excitedly at Athrun.

"Mr and Mrs Amarfi, there are no words that can express the pain we all felt at the loss of Nicol. He was special, there was no one else like him. I felt responsible for his death for many years, but last night as I walked along the beach alone, I ran into a young man…" Athrun stopped, unsure what to say next.

"What are you trying to say?" Yuri asked. Nicol stepped out from behind Athrun, his eyes were brimming with tears. Yuri's mouth dropped open, unable to believe what he saw before him. "Nicol?" he whispered.

"Father… Mother…" Nicol cried, running to them. Yuri and Romina held their son, all three sobbing uncontrollably.

"Nicol, how…?" Romina asked.

"I don't know, I woke up one day in a medical facility. I didn't know who I was, I didn't know where I was. They performed… experiments on me. I escaped about a year ago, was able to secure passage on an ORB civilian ship, and I've been here ever since," Nicol explained.

"Do you remember where this laboratory was?" Athrun questioned.

"Alaska," Nicol whispered in response. Yuri gave his son's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, indescribably happy to be able to touch him again. Kira poked his head in at that moment, wondering what all the commotion was about.

"Ah, I'd like to introduce you all to Kira Yamato, my childhood friend, and Lacus Clyne's fiancée," Athrun said, dragging Kira around to the front of him.

"Kira Yamato… Strike?" Nicol asked, and Kira nodded making Nicol's eyes narrow.

"Kira, this is Nicol Amarfi, and his parents." Athrun pointed at the family, Kira's eyes widening in recognition.

"You mean… Blitz? The boy I killed?" Kira whispered in confusion.

"Obviously he's not dead," Yzak stated while walking into the room. "Yuri Amarfi, it's a pleasure to see you again." Yzak saluted the older man, and received a nod in reply. He held his hand out behind him, which Annora took, stepping forward into the room.

"Ah, Annora," Yuri said with a smile. "It warms my heart to see you're alive and well, the news about your parents came as a shock to us, and we express our deepest condolences."

"Thank you Mr Amarfi, and I just want to express my congratulations to you at becoming a member of the National Defence Committee once again. I'm sorry we haven't kept in touch over these past years," she replied, returning his smile.

"Oh, but there won't be any reason to worry now. You and Nicol can finally get married!" Romina exclaimed gleefully.

"That's absolutely right, will we have even more good news today? Have you two decided on a date?" Yuri asked. Annora looked over at Nicol for help, too flustered to speak herself.

"She's mine," Yzak spoke up, his eyes darting between Nicol and Annora.

"It seems that Yzak's taken my place, mom and dad," Nicol said quietly, keeping his eyes on the floor.

"Oh my, I'm sorry. I hadn't realised…" Romina's face flushed in embarrassment, just now catching sight of Annora's hand in Yzak's. "Well then, when are you two love birds tying the knot?"

"That's precisely what I was going to ask her today," Yzak announced, dropping to one knee. Annora's mouth dropped open, she hadn't been expecting this from Yzak… not for a good long while at least. He slipped a beautiful white-gold diamond ring out of his pocket, holding it up for the room to see. "Annora O'Connor, will you do me the honour of being my wife?"

"…" Athrun's whole mind was screaming for her to say no, he couldn't bear the thought of her marrying Yzak. She would be lost to him forever if she said yes. He felt someone punch his arm, and he realised it was Cagalli, who was looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"When are you going to ask me?" she whispered to him angrily, Athrun just sighed in response.

Nicol watched the different emotions play out on Annora's face with interest, he somehow got the feeling that she was going to say no, or at least wanted to say no. _Yzak is trapping her,_ he thought angrily. _He's pulled her out in front of this room full of people so she can't refuse, she would never dream of humiliating him. A smart move, but very low-down._

_Oh my god, what am I supposed to do? I'm not ready for this, what is Yzak thinking asking me in front of all of these people like this? If I say no, he'll be humiliated, if I say I need to think about it, he'll be angry… What other choice do I have? _"Yes," Annora whispered, feeling the ring slip on to her finger. She suddenly felt like a prisoner, but she couldn't understand why. She loved Yzak, didn't she?

"Fukanou desu…" Athrun was in shock, she had agreed to marry Yzak. He searched her face in an attempt to understand what her motives were, but she had cleverly masked her eyes of all emotion, a forced smile on her face. He then looked down at Yzak, who had a smirk of triumph on his face, as if he thought he won some sort of competition. Next was Nicol who made no attempt to hide his rage, he was staring at Yzak with pure contempt.

"Congratulations all around," Kira said to break the uneasy silence.

"Yes! We must celebrate tonight, please stay here as long as you'd like in my home. We'll have a feast tonight, free alcohol!" Cagalli smiled brightly at everyone in the room. "For now, though, I need to work."

* * *

For the next few days Yzak was never away from Annora's side, he whisked her around town making wedding arrangements, and keeping her busy. Keeping her away from Nicol. He had sensed something wasn't right the morning before he had proposed, she wasn't acting the same as she normally did. His original plan had been to take her out to a romantic dinner, and propose to her in the old cliché ring-in-the-champagne fashion. However, something about the way her and Nicol had exchanged glances during that meeting with the Amarfi's had unsettled him, and he had to step up his plans to ensure their future together. 

He was watching her as she attempted to pick flowers for the ceremony when his cell phone rang, Ezaria Jule was the name that showed up. Sighing he flipped the phone open, "Commander Yzak Jule of the special ZAFT forces."

"Yzak-chan! Why didn't you tell me you had picked a bride? Why did I have to find out from Andrew Waldfelt that you were engaged?" Ezaria's voice blared loudly through the phone.

"Kaa-san, we've barely had time to accept it ourselves…"

"Bullshit, Yzak! I want to meet her. I want you to bring her here to Martius immediately."

"But…"

"No, no buts. I've already spoken to Lacus Clyne, she's agreed to let Zala command Eternal in your stead. You're coming home and that's final." Aware that his mother would never listen to reason, he sighed in frustration and agreed, flipping his phone closed shortly afterwards.

"What do you think of this arrangement, Mr Jule?" one of the florists asked, shoving a bouquet of flowers into his face.

"I don't care, go with whatever Annora wants," he said in annoyance. His eyes went back once more to his fiancée, watching her twirl around among the flowers, he smiled. She loved him, and she'd be with him forever, he was sure of that. "Annora, wrap things up here. I'm going to buy tickets for a little vacation, I'll be back in about an hour," he called out to her. Annora nodded and blew him a kiss, he grinned and walked out of the shop.

"Miss O'Connor, is this the arrangement you'll be going with?" the same florist asked, showing her the bouquet of lilies and roses.

"Yes, that's the one, please send the bill to my fiancée. I'm leaving now." Annora ran out of the flower shop, thankful to have an hour to herself finally. She felt around her pockets, realising suddenly that Yzak had her wallet. "Well fuck," she sighed. "Looks like I'm going for a walk in the park up there instead."

It was a beautiful day, a nice cool breeze was blowing in from the ocean, and the flowers were blooming. She hummed quietly to herself as she walked along one of the trails in the park, stopping every so often to watch a squirrel or chipmunk. She sighted a pond not far ahead, and skipped to it, seating herself on the bank. Ducks swam along the top, quacking happily, they seemed so free. Sighing, she rested her head on her knees, envious of the ducks.

It seemed like her life was moving so fast now, and she barely had any control over what was happening to her. She loved Yzak, she was sure of it, but seeing Nicol again had awoken feelings in her she thought were long gone. Suddenly Athrun's face popped into her mind, and she closed her eyes. Athrun, he'd been such a good friend to her, he'd always been there when she needed to talk. He was so… stable, and reliable. The way he'd looked at her when she accepted Yzak's proposal had cut deep into her heart, the disappointment in his eyes tore at her soul. "I'm doing the right thing, right?" she asked to no one in particular.

"I would say no, but then who am I to decide?" Athrun said, startling her. He sat down beside her, and threw a piece of bread out to the ducks.

"Where did you come from?" Annora looked Athrun over, unsure of what his intentions were.

"I wasn't far away, I followed you here. It's a beautiful spot, very peaceful," he commented.

"I know," she replied, running her left hand through her hair, Athrun caught it with his hand and brought it close to his face. He studied the ring on her finger, admiring Yzak's choice.

"It's a lovely engagement ring, Annora," he murmured, brushing his lips across her hand briefly. They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the ducks until Athrun spoke again, "Do you want to spend the rest of your life with him?"

"I…" she cast her eyes downward, trying to choose her words carefully. "I love him, and I love being with him, but lately it feels like he made the decision for me. Almost like he forced me into this, things are going so quickly now that I don't even know what's going on anymore. After Nicol kissed me again, I can't help but feel like I'm betraying him by being with Yzak. And then there's you… The disappointment on your face that day hurt me so badly. Everything's so confusing, I don't know what I'm supposed to do, Athrun. It's like this isn't even my life I'm living anymore. Four months ago I was single, and now I'm getting married to my commander. Doesn't this just seem too sudden to you?"

"I understand how you feel, sometimes there are things that happen to us, and everything just spirals out of control from there on," Athrun replied to her, his eyes gazing into her own. "Why did you say yes?" he asked suddenly.

"I had no choice, I could never hurt him. He's experienced so much pain in his life, I could never bear it if I was the cause of his tears. Could you imagine what would have happened if I refused? Especially in the room with all of those people watching us. He'd be heartbroken, he'd be angry, and he would... hate me," she whispered the last two words.

"I can understand your reasons, but why would you say yes without ever giving me a chance? Don't you know how crazy you've made me over the past few months? I've tried over and over to push you out of my mind, to pretend I feel nothing for you, but I can't do that. You've ruined my piece of mind, I can no longer look at Cagalli without imagining you, and you just go on like you're completely oblivious of it all. I can't take it anymore, can't you understand that? I need you, even if it's just for a few days, I _need you_." He gazed at her intensely, making her suddenly uncomfortable by the closeness of their bodies. "I need you," he breathed against her cheek, his lips following afterwards. He kissed along her jaw gently, then the tip of her nose, and finally her lips.

Annora's mind screamed out in protest, but her body was no longer listening to it. She opened her mouth against his, entwining her tongue with Athrun's. He laid her down on the grass, unbuttoning her shirt, and slid his hand inside of it to feel the breasts he'd imagined so many times before. She ran her hands through his hair, it was so different from Yzak's. He was so different from Yzak, he tasted sweeter, his fragrance was stronger, but his hands were so gentle.

Athrun positioned himself on top of her, placing his knee directly between her legs, straddling one of her thighs. He broke away from her mouth, moving his tongue along her neck, enjoying her taste and quiet panting. He kissed lightly between her breasts, making her shiver with desire.

"Athrun," she whispered. "Athrun we need to stop, we can't do this… not here." Athrun reluctantly complied, seating himself next to her again, willing the bulge in his pants to go away. She sat up, buttoning her shirt again, her lips tingling from the passionate kiss.

"Gomen, I didn't mean for it go that far," he said apologetically.

"I'm also sorry for all the inner-turmoil I've caused you." She sighed, attempting to fix her hair. "What we just did, it was wrong. I'm promised to another man, one of your best friends."

"But you have to admit that it felt right. Don't you feel the same for me as I do for you?" Athrun asked quietly.

"In a way… I don't know what to think, Athrun. I told you I was confused, I'm not sure of what I feel anymore, and that certainly didn't help matters. You need to give me time to think, I need to sort these things out in my head." Annora closed her eyes and leaned her head back, letting the sunlight warm her face. "Yzak will be coming for me soon, you should leave."

Understanding that she wished to be alone, Athrun stood and walked away from her. So there was hope for him after all, could he have finally managed to change her mind? He smiled to himself, thinking back to the taste of her skin, and the feel of her breasts. The way her body wriggled beneath his, the few moans that had escaped her lips, somehow he knew he wasn't going to get that out of his mind for the rest of the day.

Annora listened to Athrun's footsteps as they moved away from her, until she could no longer hear him. She sighed, ashamed with herself for not stopping it sooner, but he had felt so wonderful. She had wanted him to take her right there, she wanted to feel him inside of her. His touch was so gentle, so unlike Yzak who was usually relatively rough with her in bed. _No, stop thinking about Athrun_, she berated herself. She felt carnal attraction for Athrun, of that she was sure, but she wasn't sure she thought of him in any way other than a friend. She knew what being in love was like, and what she felt for Athrun was completely different. Footsteps snapped her out of her reverie, maybe Athrun was back?

"I didn't expect you to be back so soon," she said with a light giggle.

"I told you I'd be back in an hour, but you left the damned flower shop," Yzak grunted. "Come on, our flight leaves in 6 hours, you need to go pack a suitcase." He offered her his hand, which she took and was hauled to her feet by him. He planted a quick kiss on her lips, and led her out to the car.

"Where are we going? What about Eternal?" she asked.

"We're going to Martius, and Zala is assuming command," he replied, holding her car door open for her as she seated herself inside of it. He closed it quickly, and got into the driver seat, turning on the engine.

"What's on Martius?"

"My mother," he stated, shifting the car into drive.

* * *

"Nicol, you should really come back to PLANT with us. I'm sure any loose-ends here can be tied up by Representative Athha. Come home with us, son," Yuri said urgently to Nicol. 

"Yeah, I think that'd be a good idea," Nicol replied. "Can we leave tonight? I don't really want to stay here anymore."

"Of course, darling. Come, we'll ask Ms Athha for a ride to the airport, we'll leave now," Romina said happily. Nicol smiled at his mom, being with his parents again filled one of the voids in his heart. He felt like he was home already. Cagalli granted them the use of her own limousine, and they immediately left for the airport to book passages to PLANT.

"Oh, we've moved from Maius to Martius, our new home has a beautiful view. We kept your piano, it's been waiting for you," Yuri explained, ruffling his son's hair a bit.

"Thanks, dad." To be with his piano again, Nicol was filled with joy at the thought.

* * *

"Welcome esteemed chairwoman, Lacus Clyne," Isaiah said smoothly, smiling at the pink-haired beauty. "As you can see, they've shown me nothing but grand hospitality. Nothing but the best for Commander Yzak's brother." He waved a hand around, indicating the medical ward he was being held in. 

"So what Annora said was true, you are indeed the twin brother of Yzak Jule. This is most interesting," Lacus said quietly.

"Hmm? Annora spoke to you of me? I hope only flattering things were said about me, her and I were the best of friends aboard my ship. Where is that Irish vixen anyway? I've not seen her in well over a week," Isaiah asked with interest.

"She's on her way to an engagement party on Martius 1," Lacus replied, impressed with the mannerisms of this Yzak look-alike.

"Oh? So my brother decided to make sure no one could touch her again, how sad for Sir Athrun Zala," he remarked.

"What do you mean?" Lacus questioned.

"Surely you've seen it for yourself, Lady Lacus. He follows her around like a lost puppy, he stares at her, he takes any opportunity he can to touch her, and he becomes very upset when you mention her sexual relations with my brother. The poor boy's infatuated with the young lass, and I can't say I blame him, she is quite striking." Isaiah shrugged, laying back in the bunk with his arms behind him. "I would offer you something, but alas I've no freedom on this ship, so you must forgive my inability to be a proper host tonight, my lady."

Athrun was in love with Annora? She felt a dark premonition, this news did not bode well. Pushing the thought from her mind, she decided to start with the questioning. "I was told you were found on a Logos ship, and that you identified yourself as _General_ Isaiah Jule. What is your connection with Logos, and how did you come to be a part of their organisation?"

"I was kidnapped as a child, my mother passed me off for dead, and I was raised by Peter Arian and his lovely wife Tara. They treated me as a son, even when they had a natural son of their own. I was never mistreated by them, if you were wondering. They told me when I turned fourteen that my last name was Jule, and I came from a powerful coordinator family. I accepted the fact that I was a coordinator, and I was trained as a mobile suit pilot by the EAF. I truly longed to meet others of my kind, however," he stated simply. "I knew who I was, and I started to seek out my roots. I was surprised to learn I had a famous brother, and I was absolutely fascinated by the reports I read about him and the le Creuset team."

"So your intentions by kidnapping Lieutenant O'Connor were?"

"Oh no, it was not I who ordered to have her captured. My adoptive father gave the order for that, and it was Lady Petrine who carried it out. Having the delectable Annora onboard roused an unquenchable thirst for knowledge in me. I was going to fly her back to the Eternal myself, but she attacked me… quite viciously I might add. I long to learn more about my history, where I come from," he smiled at Lacus.

"Then you mean to say you've come here on friendly terms, is that it?" She raised an eyebrow, observing him closely, he seemed quite sincere.

"But of course, the ideals of Logos were never my ideals, however I had nothing else in my life. I would really like to know more about you, Lady Lacus. You seem like a fascinating young woman, a legendary figure almost," he replied, leaning forward slightly.

"With time, Isaiah-san. I will allow you to roam freely on this ship, but a guard will accompany you, more for your own safety than anything," she assured him. "For now, I must be going. I have duties I must attend to. Have a good evening."

"And you, my fair lady." Isaiah kissed her hand before she left, making her smile slightly. _Ah, but women are ever so susceptible to a gentleman's charm. Phase one complete, now for the fun part._ He lay back on his bed once more, laughing to himself, they were all so easy to fool.


	10. Thunder

So as I was writing up this chapter last night, a huge thunderstorm came out of nowhere and knocked my power out. The irony was delicious. Our power didn't come back until 4am, which made me a sad panda. Anyway, I realise I've made Yzak a little soft, but the voice actor was also Van Fanel in Escaflowne, so it's a tad difficult to not mix the two together. Plus, he has an awesome singing voice, Shoot (Yzak's cover song) was sung by him. Though honestly, Ishida Akira (Athrun Zala) has the hottest voice out of anyone in Gundam SEED. I would seriously marry that man just to hear him talk to me every day. Unf.

Shameless plug time: Check out Duelgirl17's Yzak fic called Silver Snipist. It's great! I've been trying to read everything from those who have commented so far, and all that I've read thus far has been fantastic. Known as r, I'm getting to you next!

Check out Nemo by Nightwish, it's my inspiration for Nicol's chapter (coming up soon). I think it describes the way I have portrayed him perfectly. "Oh how I wish for soothing rain, all I wish is to dream again. My loving heart, lost in the dark, for hope I'd give my everything." Check for it on **-youtube-** if you don't feel like looking for the MP3. Man, I hate it when FFnet blocks out names of websites. :P

* * *

"Attention all passengers," a voice blared through the intercom. "Due to severe thunderstorms and the possibility of a hurricane, all flights have been grounded until further notice. We apologise for the inconvenience, and are now offering a free meal for everyone in our cafeteria." 

"Well that's just fucking perfect," Yzak growled, throwing his arms in the air in annoyance. A clap of thunder shook the building, and children all around him cried out in terror. "And now we get to deal with a bunch of screaming brats, this day just keeps getting better."

"You should calm down, Yzak," Annora sighed. "There's no sense in getting upset over it. I would prefer to stay aground if there is indeed a hurricane heading this way, those things tear apart commercial aircraft." Yzak exhaled loudly in an attempt to control his anger, and she smiled at him. "Let's go take advantage of the free dinner, I'm starving."

"Fine," he grunted, letting himself be dragged along through the airport. They pushed through throngs of people, Yzak's temper reaching the breaking point, when suddenly the airport went pitch-black. "Fuck," he cursed, feeling around in his pocket for his flashlight. He felt Annora's hand get wrenched away from his as people started running to the cafeteria, bodies pushing past him as he groped around blindly for his fiancée's hand.

Crack – thunder shook the building again, and briefly everything was illuminated by a flash of lightning. In that moment, he saw Annora being pushed against the wall, and in the corner of his eyes he saw at least two men with guns in their hands. _Are they aiming for her?_ he wondered, panic overcoming him. He pushed people aside frantically as he reached out for his wife-to-be.

A gunshot sounded in the dark, and Yzak gasped. He fell backwards to the floor, clutching his shoulder. Waves of agony rippled through his body, making him groan in pain. Another shot was fired, the old man beside Yzak fell to the floor as well.

"Blue Cosmos!" a woman screamed, and the gravity of the situation dawned on Yzak. This was a terrorist attack, and they were going to slaughter of these civilians, coordinator or not. He growled in rage, pulling his gun out of the holster. Another flash of lightning, and Yzak fired his gun, one of the bastards falling to the floor afterward.

"Annora!" he yelled out. "Drop to the floor!" Another gunshot.

"Yzak!" he heard her scream in the distance, had she been hit? He fired his gun again and again, the attackers falling dead one after the other. People were screaming, babies were crying, but Yzak's focus never faltered. The lights flickered on, revealing the carnage before him. Twelve terrorists in all lay dead on the floor, and three civilians. Suddenly woozy, he fell back to the floor, hitting the back of his head on the marble floor. Something warm pooled around his head, and blackness started to blot out the world around him.

"Yzak, stay awake!" he heard someone call, but it seemed so far away. He was tired now, much too tired to respond. _Sleep, that's what I need… _was the last thing he thought before succumbing to unconsciousness.

* * *

Annora held Yzak's hand in her own, worry etched across her delicate features. In an act of pure bravery, he had taken down the entire group of Blue Cosmos by himself, and saved many innocent lives… but at what cost? The airport staff had put him on a stretcher and taken him to the infirmary, where he now lay on a bed. His head was wrapped in gauze, and they had cut off his shirt to extract the bullet in his shoulder. However, the bullet had gone completely through his arm, and it left a large hole. They stitched up the entry and exit wounds, and wrapped his shoulder in gauze as well. Not once had he woken up throughout the entire ordeal, not once had he responded to her calls. 

"Yzak," she whispered. "Please come back to me." She ran her hand along his cheek, begging him to open his eyes and tell her that he was okay. His face was calm and peaceful, as if he was dead, but the steady rise and fall of his chest told otherwise. Tears sprang to Annora's eyes, and she rested her head on his chest. The thump of his heart did much to calm her nerves, he was alive, and he would wake up soon…

* * *

_"Damnit! Damnit damnit damnit damnit damnit damnit!" Yzak screamed, punching Nicol's locker. "Fucking shit!" He kicked it with all of his might, denting the door and making it swing open. His eyes widened at the sight of Nicol's uniform, and tears flooded his eyes unbidden._

_"Yzak…" Dearka tried to soothe his friend, but to no avail._

_"Why did he have to die here?" Yzak cried. "Why? Well?" He stared into Athrun's emerald orbs, his pain reflected back at him tenfold. Athrun's eyes narrowed in anger, and he grabbed Yzak by the collar, forcing him against the lockers._

_"If you want to say it, why don't you?" Athrun yelled. "That it was my fault! That he died only because he was trying to save me!" The two stared at each other in contempt, until Dearka put himself between them._

_"Athrun! Yzak, you too! Knock it off! You two fighting about it isn't going to help anything. The real enemy here is Strike!" Dearka exclaimed, pushing the two apart._

_"I know that!" Yzak spat. "Miguel was killed by that guy too, not to mention my scar. Next time, I'll be sure to kill him!" Yzak stared at Athrun momentarily, the tears threatening to escape from his eyes. He shut them tight, turning away from Athrun, and ran full speed out of the room._

_"Yzak!" Dearka called out, trying to follow him. They stopped just outside of the room, Yzak was bent over with hot tears falling down his face. "Yzak," Dearka whispered as he touched his younger counterpart's shoulder._

_"I couldn't help him, Dearka. He was only 15, he was too young to be out there! The last thing I said to him was, 'Scared babies get killed on the battlefield.' What kind of horrible person says that? And now he's dead, I'll never get the chance to tell him that he was a good friend… Fuck!" Yzak cried out as he punched the floor below him._

* * *

A solitary blue eye cracked open, squinting as the fluorescent light hit its pupil. Yzak opened his other eye and together they swept across the room, he was disoriented, and his head was throbbing with pain. Something warm splashed on to his chest, making him gaze down to where a tangled mass of red covered his torso. _What is this?_ he wondered. _Where am I?_ He attempted to sit up slowly, but grunted and fell back to his pillow as a sharp pain raced through his shoulder. 

The red slowly lifted off of his chest, and he then realised that it was a woman who had been sleeping on him. She turned her face to him, her large green eyes glistening with tears. Her pink lips instantly turned up in a smile as she noticed Yzak staring at her, but his mind was clouded from the effects of his concussion and morphine. She was speaking to him, but he couldn't hear what she was saying. The light made rings around her head, _she must be my angel,_ he thought. A smile hovered on his lips for a few minutes before he slipped back into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Mrs Jule I presume?" a doctor stated, coming up behind Annora. 

"Oh, uh… yes, that's me," she replied.

"Might I have a word?" The doctor was a middle-aged man, with thick square glasses and short brown hair. He seemed like a kind man, someone with good bedside manner. "I just wanted to thank you for helping us bring your husband to the hospital. The airport medical facility was ill-equipped to care for his condition."

"What condition?" she asked in exasperation.

"It appears that when he fell, he managed to fracture his skull. However, because he is a coordinator, his recovery is almost certain. For the next few days, he might not be able to respond, the pain killers will keep his mind pretty fuzzy. It's possible that during these first few days, he may not recognise you or any of his other family members and friends, either. But, you can never be sure with coordinators." The doctor stopped, scratching his head for a moment as he tried to remember what else he needed to tell his patient's young wife. "Ah yes!" he added, pulling a plastic bag out of his pocket and handing it to Annora. "These are the few personal effects he had with him. You'll find his wallet, his firearm, his watch, and his cell phone in there."

"I see, thank you Dr Sakai," she said quietly while rummaging through the items in the bag. Taking the opportunity, she seized the cell phone and dialed Athrun's number frantically. _Pick up, pick up, pick up for the love of God…_

"Hai Yzak?" Athrun answered.

"Athrun!" she sobbed into the phone.

"Annora? Daijoubu?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

"It's Yzak… he's hurt." Annora clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle her crying.

"Where are you? Are you on Earth still?"

"Yes, the hospital on Onogoro. Please, come to me," she whispered, hanging up the phone. She slipped back into Yzak's room, sinking down into the chair beside his bed, and covering her face with her hands. "I love you more than you'll ever know, Yzak."

* * *

"Where are you going, Athrun?" Kira asked while running down the stairs to catch up to his friend. 

"The hospital, Yzak is there," Athrun replied, buttoning his ORB military jacket.

"Nani? For what?"

"I don't know, I wasn't told. I need to go, though. If you're going to come with me, then get in to the car," Athrun said quietly, walking out of the mansion. Kira shrugged and followed Athrun out to the car.

"Who told you Yzak was injured?" he asked.

"Annora," Athrun shrugged. "She called me, and asked me to go there."

"I see…" Kira watched his friendly closely, the wind whipping his hair around his face. "Do you love her?"

"Bakana…"

"Don't lie to me, Athrun," Kira said sharply.

"I do," Athrun sighed.

"And Cagalli?"

"Of course I love her, why would you even need to ask that?" Athrun answered all too quickly, Kira narrowed his eyes.

"If you hurt her, I don't think I'll be able to forgive you. She waited around for two years while you slept with that Meyrin girl, don't break her heart again, Athrun. I won't stand by and watch her cry because of you. You do whatever you need to do, but you make sure you come home to Cagalli at the end of it all." Kira took a deep breath and looked away from his bewildered friend, he'd never spoken to Athrun in such a way before. The two rode in silence the rest of the way to the hospital.

Would he really hurt Cagalli? That thought hadn't crossed his mind before, he'd been so caught up in his own thoughts and emotions that he hadn't even taken the time to consider hers. _How incredibly selfish of me…_

* * *

The door creaked open slowly as Kira slipped inside, attempting not to wake Yzak and Annora. Yzak was stretched out on the hospital bed sleeping peacefully, while Annora held his hand and slept with her head on the side of his bed. He smiled, relieved to see that Annora still cared about Yzak. Perhaps it was just Athrun that was the problem? He crouched on the floor beside Annora's chair, watching her face in slumber. Her cheeks were tear-stained, and her eyelashes clumped together, telling Kira that she had fallen asleep crying. 

Athrun slipped in the room as well, instantly worried when he saw the gauze all over Yzak. He sat at the edge of the bed, taking Yzak's free hand in his, and shooting Kira a look of concern. "What do you think happened?" he asked quietly.

"I had a chance to speak with the doctor briefly, he said Yzak was a hero," Kira replied equally quietly. Annora roused herself and sat up, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her blouse, and smiling weakly at Athrun and Kira. "Ohayou," Kira whispered.

"Hey guys, thanks for coming. I'm sorry I've delayed the departure of Eternal, but I just couldn't bear to be alone right now," she remarked, gripping Yzak's hand tightly.

"What happened?" Athrun asked again.

"There was a Blue Cosmos attack in the airport, it seems that Yzak was the only one there with a gun who reacted properly. He killed all twelve of them, but he got shot too, and he hit his head on the floor. The doctor says he'll heal, but he has a fracture in his skull," she confirmed.

"Then the doctor was right, what he did was heroic," Kira stated as he pat Annora's knee in a comforting gesture. They all shared a smile, and then sat in silence, watching Yzak. The minutes flew past, and minutes turned into hours, still they sat silently, all of them hoping for Yzak to open his eyes and say something.

Once again, his blue eyes cracked open to observe the room before him, he immediately took notice of the three that surrounded his bed. "Athrun," he croaked. "What the hell are you doing here?" Athrun just smiled in response, and squeezed his old friend's hand. "My angel," Yzak whispered, looking to Annora next.

"Yzak? Oh thank god, I was so scared you wouldn't wake up," she cried, leaning over him to kiss his lips. Athrun averted his eyes, an action Kira didn't fail to notice. "I love you so much," she whispered against his lips, kissing him once more.

"I love you," he replied, touching her face lightly with his free hand. "And I want to get out of here, skull fracture or not, I hate hospitals. I promise you, I'm fine. Go get the doctor, he'll tell you." He smiled reassuringly at her, letting Athrun help him to a sitting position. She pulled back from him, and Yzak let his eyes wander over her figure, his body hungering for her touch again. "Hurry and get the doctor, I need to get you home," he said huskily, making Kira blush.

"It seems you are fine," Kira chuckled.

* * *

"How dare you call me at this time of night!" Petrine snapped into the phone. 

"I'm indeed sorry, my dear princess, but I needed to let you know that I'm still alive," the man replied.

"Alive, dead, what does it matter to me?" she declared testily, rubbing the sleep out of her hazel eyes.

"Ah, Petrine, my sweet lovely Petrine. I have information for you, would you not like to hear it?" the man asked with a slight chuckle.

"Can it Isaiah, what's your report?"

"The esteemed chairwoman of PLANT is here on Earth, staying at young Ms Athha's mansion on Onogoro Island. Eternal has lost its commander and ace mobile suit pilot as well, it seems my dear brother and that fiery young girl are to be married."

"And? What does this have to do with me?"

"Since I cannot directly call my father, I'll need you to be my messenger. You are capable of that, are you not?" A low growl was the answer he received. "Good girl. Here's one thing that may surprise you, Nicol Amarfi was found by Athrun Zala in ORB, and he has since been reunited with his parents, and left for PLANT. It seems that brother of yours is alive, and has a cosy little spot on the committee."

"Yuri…" Petrine whispered.

"Two more ships are being sent to join the Eternal, one of whom will be the Archangel. The Logos threat has been deemed worthy enough for the three ships to reunite once more. Have the troops ready, and make sure our three star pilots are prepared as well. We will be launching for Alaska on the morrow," Isaiah announced.

"Understood, stay well General," Petrine said, flipping her phone closed. She sighed, sliding out of bed wearily. She knew this day was coming, but didn't expect it so soon, would her troops be able to handle the attack? Slipping on her pants, she left her quarters to inform the army of the impending attack. Four days to prepare, would it be enough?

* * *

"Kei," a young girl with pink hair whispered, shaking her older brother's shoulder. "Kei, wake up. Lady Petrine said we had to go meet her this morning." 

"Five more minutes, Ayumi!" Kei exclaimed, pulling his pillow over his head.

"Get up now!" Ayumi squealed, pulling the blankets off of Kei. Groaning, he sluggishly got out of bed, and proceeded to dress himself.

"Where's Taka?" he asked as he pulled his shirt over his light brown hair.

"She's already with Lady Petrine, you're the only one we're waiting for!" Ayumi giggled, her violet eyes sparkling. Kei smiled in return, ruffling his younger sister's hair. "Come on! We're late!" Ayumi dragged Kei through the halls as he tried to wake himself up, rubbing his brown eyes. They emerged into the hangar, where their new GAT series mobile suits awaited.

"Could you have slept any longer?" Taka asked with a smile. She was the same age at Kei, 19, but she had straight black hair that reached her waist, and silver eyes that were almost white. The two had grown up together, and had been lovers for several years. They all moved forward to where Lady Petrine stood, tapping her foot impatiently.

"You're lucky you're beloved of General Jule, I've a mind to punish you for your tardiness," she snapped. "Get to work on your new mobile suits, we have four days until ZAFT and ORB attack us, and I expect you to perform exceedingly well." She stalked out of the hangar, leaving the three teenagers to their devices.

"Wow, she's definitely in a grumpy mood," Ayumi remarked, climbing into the cockpit of her mobile suit named Advocacy. It was equipped with N-Jammer Cancellers, and light pink in colour, Isaiah had it repainted just for her. Advocacy specialised in hand-to-hand combat, with many different sabres and anti-ship swords.

"I heard Isaiah woke her up at 5am," Taka replied, already inside of her black mobile suit named Adversity. Hers specialised in long-range attacks, but also had 2 beam sabres, and 2 boomerangs.

"Regardless, she had no need to take it out on us," Kei yawned, placing his foot in the stirrup to get into his cockpit. His mobile suit was named Absolve, and was based on the records of the original Freedom. It was dark blue, with the same armaments as the unit it mimicked. His was the leader unit out of the three, and the strongest. He pulled out his keyboard, typing away as he ran tests on the mobile suit's inner-systems. _Four days until we see real combat, this is exactly what we've been waiting for!_ _Isaiah promised us freedom if we performed well… We must survive, I must save Taka and Ayumi._

As far back as he could remember, he had been with Isaiah and the Alaska lab. The drugs they pumped into his system, and the horrible experiments they made him participate in haunted his dreams. It was Isaiah who had taken the three of them under his wing, shielding them from the scientists' abuse. Their general had treated them well, given them high ranks, and allowed them as much freedom as he possibly could. They were the three best extended pilots in the army, and the three best treated. Kei had watched as the weaker ones were disposed of, the ones whose bodies couldn't take the chemicals, it had disgusted him.

_"Our war is coming, Kei," Isaiah said quietly. "I promise you absolute freedom if you fight for us, and fight well. We're counting on your strength."_

"I'll fight," Kei whispered. "I'll fight so Taka and Ayumi can live peaceful lives…"


	11. The End of All Things

Ahoy. A bit of a late start to this chapter, you can thank the unpredictable Alberta prairie weather for that one, tornado warnings, hail storms, severe thunderstorms. The power was flickering on and off all damned weekend. God, I love it here! It did give me time to sucker my step-dad into watching Gundam SEED with me though, finally, another adult understands that anime doesn't children's cartoon. Americans dub these violent and often profane anime, and turn them into G rated shows, drives me nuts.

Having said that, here's the Nicol chapter I promised last time. I wrote this out by hand the night my power was knocked out for 6 hours, took longer to polish than I had originally imagined, though. Oh right, got around to reading known as r's stories, they kick ass. Good way to kill time. I also watched all of Escaflowne again, man I love Tomokazu Seki.

* * *

My name is Nicol Amarfi, I am a 20 year old coordinator, and former ZAFT mobile suit pilot. As a youth, I was an exceptional pianist, and was given every advantage in life largely thanks to my father who was not only ZAFT military, but also part of the National Defence Committee. I enjoyed a happy childhood in our beautiful home on Maius 1, and had very loving parents. 

I took an interest in music at a very young age, and my father bought me a black grand piano to encourage my career choice. I still remember him blindfolding me and leading me into the sun room to show me the piano for the first time, I cannot accurately describe the joy I felt when that blindfold was slipped from my eyes. I quickly mastered playing the piano, and decided that while I loved to play other peoples' music, I wanted to create my own, just like Lacus Clyne. I wrote many different songs, all of them were good, but I was never fully able to put the emotion into my songs as great composers like Beethoven and Mozart did.

That all changed on the night of my fourteenth birthday. My father called me into the living room where he was entertaining a couple and their teenage daughter, I still remember the first time I saw her. She was small and thin, but she had the most dazzling green eyes, and lovely red hair that fell in ringlets around her face. She was intrigued by my father's collection of 20th century novels, and was running her hand over each title in wonder. I could tell right then that this was the intellectual girl I had always dreamed of meeting, and although she hadn't developed yet, she was still beautiful to me.

"Nicol," my father had called. "I'd like you to meet the O'Connors, they're old friends of your mother's. This is Lauren and Sherrie," he indicated to the adults, "and their daughter, Annora." Annora, it was such a beautiful name, and I remember feeling that it fit her perfectly. I bowed to them all, introducing myself, and thanking them for coming. My father continued on, "They've come to us with a proposal, you see. It has been decided that Annora will be your fiancée." My father smiled proudly at me, and I was shocked at first, but it felt right afterward.

She came up beside me, and she took my hand. "I'm Annora," she said in that angelic voice. I was speechless, so I instead took her hand and kissed it, much to the delight of her parents. I had instantly fallen for her, and an unspeakable inspiration came over me. I wrote many songs in the weeks following our initial meeting, but between our dates of course. As I got to know her better, my feelings only grew stronger.

"Annie," I said as I took her hand in mine. "This engagement, is it something you want too?"

"Why wouldn't I want it, Nicol?" She smiled at me, making my heart melt. "You're probably the best friend I've ever had, and I feel like… like I want to know everything about you and more." I had wanted so badly to kiss her right then, but I knew it wasn't the right time, it was too sudden.

Months went by, her and I growing closer as time went on, and I could hardly get her off of my mind. I took the emotion I felt for her, and I channelled it into the only thing I was confident in, music. The composition of Annie's song had begun, and it was fast becoming my best piece my mother had always said.

Then one day, the news came. I was in the living room with my mother, we were watching the TV together, and an urgent report flashed on to the screen. I watched in horror as Junius 7 was completely destroyed by the EAF's nuclear attack, and my mother hugged me to her. I remember crying for the thousands of innocent people who lost their lives, and I felt unbearable sorrow at the senseless act of genocide. The war had started, and there was no way to stop the downward spiral of destruction. I felt then that I needed to fight, not only to protect my family, but to protect the future family I wanted to make.

I finished Annie's song, and I invited her into the sun room one evening. I was going to play the song I made for her, and I was going to tell her that I had enlisted in ZAFT to ensure our lives together. She looked lovely that night, she had her hair pinned up, and a lovely violet dress on that stopped just above her knees. She had grown since our first meeting, and was maturing before my eyes, which only enhanced her beauty.

"This is a song I just composed, I want you to be the first to hear it. I think it mirrors your beauty," I told her, giving her the most sincere smile I could muster. I rested my fingers on the ivory keys, and then started playing her song. The emotion I had poured into writing it was also poured into playing it, and I could barely contain my tears. I loved her, I truly did, and now I was telling her in my own way. I closed my eyes, letting my heart and hands guide me along, letting my soul tell her how I felt. As I finished, I opened my eyes to see her, it was like looking at her for the first time again. Her eyes were glistening with tears, and the smile on her face was full of love.

"Oh Nicol, that was incredible," she whispered to me, wiping her eyes with her hand. I stood then, and pulled her in close to me, her scent was intoxicating. This was the closest we had ever been, but I needed her to be closer. I held her firmly to my body, feeling her breasts against my own chest. Looking deep into her eyes, I bent my head down, and our lips touched. It lasted only a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity, and it was the happiest I had ever felt.

"I think we'll be happy together," I whispered to her, kissing her one more time. She was warm, soft, and gentle, and then I knew that I had made the right choice. I needed to fight for her, I needed to make sure no harm ever came to her. "I'm going away for a while," I had said quietly to her.

"Where?" she asked, her eyes were suddenly so full of pain. I ran my fingers along her stunning face, wanting her to understand.

"I've enlisted, I'm going to the Aprilius ZAFT Academy starting tomorrow."

"You don't need to fight! Nicol, this isn't your war!" she cried, and her grip on me tightened.

"I need to fight so you and I can live out our lives together. I need to fight to protect you," I replied to her, kissing her forehead. She buried her head into my shoulder and started to cry, so I held her to comfort her. I'm not sure how long we stayed like that, but that moment never left my memories; that feeling of immense love.

The academy was larger than I thought it would be, and there were so many things we had to learn. It was a gruelling experience, but I stuck with it because I had to protect her. It was there that I met Rusty Mackenzie, Dearka Elsman, Athrun Zala, and Yzak Jule. All five of us became good friends, though it was Athrun who became my best friend. He was a year older than I was, and a great role model. He was the son of Patrick Zala, who was a friend of my father, but we had never met each other previously. He was strong, and he was smart, and he was the top of our class in almost everything, Yzak in second, and myself in third. Athrun and Yzak despised each other, but Rusty always managed to calm them down. Dearka said once that Rusty was our glue, he kept us all together, but I thought there was something else that kept us together.

When we graduated, we were assigned to the le Creuset team, and it was Miguel Ayman who welcomed us. Athrun and I decided to meet him a day earlier than the other three, and we waited nervously in his room. Miguel had already been a mobile suit pilot for two years, and was already experienced in battles on the frontline. He entered and sat in front of us, our files in his hand.

"Athrun Zala… Nicol Amarfi…" he said thoughtfully.

"Yes sir!" we replied in unison, and saluted.

"Well, both of you are red…" he confirmed rubbing his chin in thought. Athrun and I looked at each other in anxiety, not sure if he felt intimidated by our superior ranks, which made Miguel chuckle lightly. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm glad to have received such excellent cadets. My name is Miguel Ayman, I graduated two years before you did."

"A pleasure to meet you," Athrun said, and we bowed to Miguel.

"I was told there were be five rookies this time, but the others… Yzak Jule, Dearka Elsman, and Rusty Mackenzie… They have until tomorrow to report here, so I think they'll come later. Why didn't you do the same?" he asked, brushing his blonde bangs from his face.

"I… um…" Athrun stammered, clearly agitated.

"You should have come with the others! It's the majority rule!" Miguel exclaimed.

"It's just… we thought it would be better if we came earlier," I explained in an attempt to save Athrun from his embarrassment.

"Being early is better than being late, but tomorrow I'll have to talk to a group of rookies again," Miguel responded, waving his hand in the air in disinterest. "Well, what about the academy? Is Knife Fred still in good shape?"

"Ayman-senpai, did Knife Fred teach you too?" Athrun asked.

"Call me Miguel," he laughed. "And of course he did. He really drilled us. _Where are you going? A battlefield? Or maybe a dance club?_" Athrun and I burst out laughing at his spot-on impression of our instructor.

"He gave us a piece of his mind too," I gasped out between chuckles. "_Defeat isn't just defeat. On the battlefield, it means death!_ But Athrun beat him in a knife fight, one on one!"

"So you were the best in the knife fight?" Miguel gasped, pointing at Athrun. "That guy only fights with the best one."

"Um, well, yes…" Athrun replied in embarrassment.

"Yzak was second, and I was third," I added.

"Well, I'd like to see how good at fighting you are," Miguel said, standing and tossing Athrun a knife. "Show me what you can do."

They unsheathed their knives, and stood in battle stances. Miguel was the first to make a move, he ran at Athrun and slashed his knife out in front of him, which Athrun parried. Seizing the momentum, Athrun slashed downward at Miguel, who dodged just in time. He then sprung upward, stabbing at Athrun, making him flip backwards and out of range.

"Come on, show me what you can do Athrun!" Miguel cried. Athrun crouched for a moment, and then leapt at Miguel. He grabbed him, twisted Miguel's arm until the knife clattered to the floor, and held his own knife inches from Miguel's throat. Athrun held Miguel's gaze with an aggressive stare, and then backed off. I had seen Athrun's knife play in action before, but it was always amazing to watch, his speed and acrobatics were astounding.

"I'm sorry, I didn't intend for it to go that far," Athrun apologised.

"It's nothing. As I expected, that's one of the reasons I don't wear red. Nowadays we usually fight with mobile suits, though. They're very important. Come with me, I'll show you something interesting," he waved for us to follow him, and we did.

"Miguel, you've already had battle experience, haven't you?" I asked.

"Well, it's obvious isn't it?" Miguel remarked.

"What about shooting down enemy units?" Athrun added.

"Hey, are you making fun of me?" Miguel shot Athrun a sly look.

"Iie! Nothing like that!" Athrun exclaimed.

"Well, the main enemy force is made up of moebiuses. When there are a lot of them, they can cause trouble. In the simulations, they were terrible, but that's what space fights are really like. GINN's potential is higher, but then a group of ants can defeat a beetle. The real enemy isn't a computer program, don't forget that," he said with a wink. "How good are you at mobile suit battle?"

"Athrun was the best, I was second, and Yzak was third," I replied.

"I see, and marksmanship?"

"Incidentally, Yzak was first. I was first in disposal of explosives, and Athrun was second in both." I looked over to Athrun, stifling a laugh as I saw how red his face was. "In intelligence disposal, Athrun was first again, Yzak was second, and I was third."

"Are your relations with Yzak on good terms?" Miguel asked Athrun.

"No they aren't, are they Athrun?" I chuckled.

"As I thought," Miguel sighed. "Here we are!" He pointed at the window which revealed the hangar below. "It's a really magnificent view, I think," he added.

"They are great, aren't they? We never got to see so many GINNs in one place training at the academy. And every one of them is used, right?" I asked in wonder, there were rows upon rows of GINNs in front of me, it was a truly awe-inspiring sight.

"Of course they are," he replied.

"Oh! This one is CGUE, right?" I was referring to the large white mobile suit in front of me.

"It's our captain's unit," Miguel said with a shrug.

"It's wonderful, I wish I could pilot it right away!" I was so excited by the thought of piloting my very own mobile suit. Looking back on it now, I don't think I would have been as excited, I wasn't prepared for what the war would do to my friends and I.

"Well, in that case you should get to know the captain a bit better!" Miguel laughed.

"Miguel-senpai, which unit is yours?" Athrun questioned.

"That orange one in the middle is mine. It's in maintenance for a while, though." He beamed proudly as Athrun stared in awe at his customised GINN. "Under the right circumstances, you might be able to customise your units too."

"Wow! Athrun, what do you think about the scarlet one? The Italian red would look good too," I chattered excitedly.

"Yes it would!" he replied, just as excited.

"What impertinence, you'd better choose the pink one. It would suit you, Athrun," Miguel chuckled.

"Nani? Pink?" Athrun sighed.

Our first meeting with Miguel had been so exciting, I never would have imagined he could be killed so easily. His positive attitude made him seem so full of life, like he was invincible. I believe I started to understand how fragile life was when Rusty and Miguel were killed in action, and I was truly terrified for the first time. Yzak often told me the battlefield was no place for scared babies, but he didn't understand my reasons for fighting. He had never been in love before, and there was no way I could have explained it to him. I thought he was so self-involved that he would never know love, I was terribly wrong.

Battle after battle, all four of us were repeatedly defeated by Strike. I could feel us all drifting apart from each other, and was helpless to do anything to stop it. Athrun was always a quiet person, but the war had changed him in a way I couldn't understand. He was often brooding, always depressed, and never smiled. I worried for his health, uncertain if there was some physical ailment he was suffering from, or if it was just simply the deaths of our friends and comrades.

"Nicol, why did you decide to enlist?" he asked me one day.

"I just felt it was the right thing to do. When I saw the news about Junius 7, I felt that I, too, should be fighting," I answered him.

I'm not entirely sure why I did it, but I withheld all information about my engagement from my team mates. Perhaps if I had told them about her, Yzak never would have seduced her later on. The day of my defeat, I was scheduled to call her, and I truly regret not doing it. If only I had told her how much she meant to me that day…

I spent the next four years of my life in a laboratory, where I was constantly drugged, and constantly injected with needles. I remember next to nothing about my time there, but one name has stayed in my mind since, Petrine. I don't know who she is, I don't know what she looks like, but I do know that name holds some kind of significance.

My life was a blur after I escaped from the lab. I had met Athalia on the ship as I was sailing to Onogoro, she looked remarkably like Athrun, but I didn't realise this at the time. Every time I saw her after that, something had struggled to break free in my mind, but always failed. I mistook that strange feeling for love, and stayed close to her, but we had never cared for each other very much. A mild friendship was all we shared, however I couldn't tell the difference, I didn't even know who I was.

Athrun had found me on the beach, there was such pain in his eyes when he saw me. Something about his expression had released some foggy memories from their prison, but I couldn't make sense of them. It wasn't until I saw her, until I looked into her eyes that I fully understood the memories, and who I was. To think you could feel something so strong for a person, even after several years, I never could have imagined it. I was heartbroken when she told me of Yzak, and angry that someone like him could capture her heart so completely.

The pain I've felt over these past few weeks has been unlike anything I've ever endured before. I know I can't be with her, I know I can't love her, but my heart does not listen to reason. I find myself imagining her scent, and humming her song quite often. My parents are worried about me, and I suppose they have good reason to. They were both so shocked when Yzak proposed to her, and they knew I had taken it especially hard. To make matters worse, it would seem that Yzak wasn't the only one battling for her affections. I had watched Athrun with interest since the proposal, he was practically fuming for the next week, and he looked at her with such longing in his eyes. I could understand what the two felt for her, she was an exceptional woman, but she was supposed to be mine. I'm starting to feel that maybe I would have been better off having never remembered any of my past, perhaps if I had died, things would have continued on as normal.

* * *

Icy blue eyes observed Annora with interest as she moved about the room, placing different things in a large black suitcase. Bringing a hand to his head, he pushed back the silvery strands of hair that had been blown into his eyes by the slight breeze coming in from the window. He loved everything about this girl, he loved the way her hair fell around her face, he loved the way her nose wrinkled when she was angry, he loved how she snuggled into his arms at night, he loved her… and that's why it was time to let her go. 

Yzak fought with himself, attempting to throw up his emotional barriers one more time. _Don't you dare hurt her, don't you dare push her away like this_, his mind pleaded with him. _You love her, you love her more than anything in this universe, that's why… **That's why I must let her go. **What kind of demented reasoning is that, baka? **I can't afford the distraction anymore, there's a war brewing, and I can't have her screwing with my focus like this anymore. **Don't do this to her, to you. Don't break her heart like this. _He blocked out what his conscience was telling him, he had to do this to protect them both. "Annora, we need to talk," he barked across the room. Yzak crossed his arms, swallowed his feelings, and planted his customary scowl on his face.

Annora immediately took notice of his disposition, and was frightened beyond belief. _Why does he look so angry? Oh my god, what if he found out about Athrun? What if he breaks up with me? _She swallowed hard, "You can talk to me about anything." Her voice came out as a small squeak, and she mentally kicked herself for not sounding stronger.

"It's time to go our separate ways," his voice was rough, and he kept his face passive, forcing his eyes to remain cold and hard.

"What do you mean? Are you… are you calling off the engagement?" she whispered incredulously. Her hand immediately went to the ring on her finger, and she started twisting it in anxiety.

He steadily held her gaze, and inwardly winced at the pain he saw reflected back at him from those forest green orbs. He clenched his teeth and steeled his resolve, pressing on, "Did you not hear me, woman? I said we're finished, I don't want to see you anymore. How hard is this to understand?" _Don't, no… Don't do this to her. **Shut up!**_

"What? Why? Did I do something wrong?" she asked, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Yzak, please don't do this. We can fix whatever's wrong, we love each other…"

"No," he growled. _How could you lie to her like that, you fool? _"I don't love you, and I'll take my ring back now." He held his hand out, his frown deepening. Annora wrenched the ring off of her finger and threw it at him, which he caught effortlessly. He narrowed his eyes, making the sadness that was rippling through his body seem like anger.

"How dare you?" she whispered quietly, her face contorted in fury. "How fucking dare you, you son of a bitch! I love you, I love you with all of my heart, and you just… You fucking bastard!" her yell echoed through the Athha mansion. "Get out! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, throwing the lamp that was next to her at his head.

"I've no use for such ridiculous sentiments like love," he hissed while ducking as the lamp collided with the wall. Shoving the ring in his pocket, he stalked out of the room, his barriers threatening to crumble at any second. He heard her fall to the floor, he heard the heart-wrenching sobs, but he kept walking. "This is for your own good," he whispered, momentarily letting the grief wash over him. _Why did you do that? You've lost her forever…_

"Yzak, what did you do?" Athrun snapped, and Yzak put his scowl back on.

"What I should have done a long time ago," he answered in a low voice. Pushing past Athrun, he left the mansion.

Athrun entered the room Annora and Yzak had shared for so long, he found her curled up into a ball on the floor, and she was sobbing harder than he'd ever witnessed anyone do before. He noticed immediately that the lovely engagement ring she had worn for the past few weeks was gone, and the realisation of what had happened hit him with full force. Yzak had left her, but why? "Annora, I…"

"Leave me alone," she sobbed. Athrun's eyes flooded with tears, he could feel her pain, and it felt horrible.

Outside, Yzak stopped at the driveway, he could still hear her crying all the way out here. He closed his eyes, willing the pain to go away. He knew it was going to hurt to push her away, but he wasn't prepared for her reaction, and how badly it would affect him. He hated to be the cause of her suffering, but if he stayed with her, she would be in danger, a talk with his brother told him as much.

_"Arian does not operate like traditional Logos members," Isaiah said with a smirk. "He will hit you where it hurts most, and as long as you love someone, that person will always be in danger. That is why the order was issued to capture her, thus your engagement is a foolish thing to do."_

"_But I can't just break it off, she loves me," Yzak replied._

"_Find a way, Yzak, or you may end up losing her forever," Isaiah advised._

"Haven't I already lost her forever?" he whispered to himself, the tears he had held back finally sliding free. "That's right, isn't it Annora? You hate me now, I just hope one day you will let me explain." Yzak took one last look at her window, and drove away from the mansion.

* * *

"Where are you guys taking Serenity?" Shinn asked as he watched the maintenance crew drive it off of the Eternal. 

"Orders from Commander Jule, this unit is to be moved to the Millenius to be part of PLANT defence," one of the crewmen answered with a shrug. "You should ask your commander for any other details concerning the sudden transfer."

"But that's… no way," Shinn whispered in shock. His ruby eyes were wide with confusion, Yzak and Annora were inseparable, so why would he suddenly order her to be transferred? None of this made sense. Deciding to take the crewman's advice, Shinn took off running to his commander's quarters where he knew Yzak would be. He knocked lightly on the door, entering when he heard Yzak yell something.

"What?" Yzak snapped.

"Why did you transfer O'Connor?" he asked simply.

"She would better serve ZAFT in space," Yzak stated coldly.

"But Yzak…"

"Why would you assume any of this was your business, Asuka?" Yzak growled. Shinn stared, mouth agape at his commander. It was then that he saw the ring, her ring, sitting on the corner of Yzak's desk.

"She left you," he whispered in understanding.

"No, I left her, now get out of my face. Go work on your mobile suit," Yzak said dismissively. Shinn left the room in confusion, uncertain that he believed what he had just heard. Since he had been assigned to this ship, he had watched the loving couple with envy. The way they looked at one another was something he had never experienced himself, and he was jealous of their relationship. Now it was over, and for no apparent reason. What happened?

* * *

"I've been transferred where?" Annora could hardly believe what she was hearing, Yzak had removed her from Eternal? 

"The Millenius, you're to report to its commanding officer at 0800 in three days," the man said.

"But… why?"

"You shouldn't require a reason, this is a direct order from one of your superiors. That is all." The call ended, leaving Annora in silence. She had suspected something was wrong, and was hoping she would have the chance to talk to Yzak again when they had both settled down, but it seemed as though that was impossible now. She sunk down to the floor again, sobs wracking her body.

Maybe he had told the truth, maybe he really didn't love her anymore. Picking herself up from the floor, she fled the Athha mansion and took a cab to the airport, immediately leaving for Martius 1. She didn't know why she went there, but she knew she had to go, she had to run from the pain.


	12. Ongoing Conflicts

You're all probably thinking, "Yzak broke up with her? What the hell dude?" I felt it necessary; all good fics need a little angst, right? Will they get back together? That remains to be seen. Thank you to the two who reviewed thus far. Isaiah will make more sense as time goes on, there's a direction I'm going in, but I can only cram so much into a chapter, y'know? ;)

Update: I've just finished uploading the majority of pictures that I've drawn lately. You can find them all at this link: members . shaw . ca / bulma underscore c / Pictures /

Remove the spaces, and replace the underscore with the actual symbol for it!

_

* * *

Blood. Blood and feathers, they were everywhere. Everything swirled around him in a blur of red and white, he felt trapped here, and alone. Where was he? Reaching out, he snatched a feather as it drifted down, it's pristine beauty marred by the droplets of blood covering the surface. A faint cry in the distance caught his attention, someone was in pain. A woman was crying._

_Icy blue eyes scanned his surroundings in an attempt to ascertain where he should be going. Another sob, it was in front of him. He took off running, uncertain of why he felt an overwhelming need to comfort whoever was crying. He slowed his pace as a slumped form came into view, rivers of red flowing from her to him. Cautiously, he stepped forward for a better view, and gasped. A young woman was kneeling, her back to him, her body convulsing with sobs. Sprouting from her back were magnificent white wings, but upon closer inspection, he found that they lay limp and useless, steaks of blood all over the feathers._

_He reached a hand out to touch her, and her face turned to him, a face which made him instantly fall to his knees. In front of him sat the woman he loved most. Her ringlets framed her angelic face, her green eyes haunted with pain, and her lips were set in a tight frown. She lifted her arms to him where a baby was cradled, showing him the silver-haired green-eyed child. He noticed blood pooling around his angel's legs, and she then spoke, "Yzak…"_

Yzak awoke with a start, sitting up and gripping his chest in agony as his heart thudded against it, his silver hair falling into his face. He threw the blankets from him and fled to his bathroom, vomiting into the toilet. _Could that dream have actually meant something? _He reached up and flushed, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He stood shakily, his knees threatening to give out from under him at any moment, his heart still fluttering within his chest. _Bakana, it was just a dream. Get a hold of yourself. _

Sighing, he stripped himself of his boxers and slipped into the shower stall. He slowly turned the knob, the warm water pelting his skin. It was a welcome feeling; the warmth that enveloped his body was soothing away his stress. Yzak's head leaned back as he closed his eyes, and he smoothed his silver hair back from his face, letting the water run down his face in rivulets. Squeezing a generous gob of shampoo into his palm, he started working his fingers over his scalp, feeling his tension dissipate with each second. The soapy bubbles swirled down his toned body as he rinsed the shampoo from his hair, letting the heat relax him. He placed his hands against one of the walls and bowed his head forward, keeping his eyes closed.

"_Yzak…" _Her pained eyes flashed into his mind once more, that child in her arms, and the blood... Yzak shook his head to dislodge the image from his sight, wanting to keep her out of his thoughts. Shutting the shower off and sighing, he left the stall and rubbed a towel through his dripping hair. He pulled the towel off of his head and stared into the mirror, unhappy with the pain he saw in his eyes.

"Pull yourself together, Yzak," he growled at his reflection as he slapped himself across the face. "You'll get her back when the war's over, there's no need to be like Athrun." Taking a deep breath, he wrapped the towel around his waist, and left the bathroom to get dressed for a long day of attack planning.

* * *

"Ohayou gozaimasu, Jule-taichou," Murrue called out as Yzak entered the briefing room. He smiled at her and gave her a slight wave before taking a seat at the front. Murrue's eyes travelled over his face, unsure if what she saw was real or imagined. He seemed almost… in love, but there was great sorrow in his eyes, which were a darker shade of blue this day. She shrugged, _It's none of my business, and he'd never tell me about it anyway._

"I'm glad to see we've all gathered at the appropriate time," Yzak started. "Tomorrow morning we will commence our attack on the new Logos headquarters. Chairwoman Clyne has put the utmost faith in our three ships, and their mobile suit pilots, let's live up to her expectations." He pulled a small remote out of his pocket and clicked a button; the room went dark while a map of the terrain appeared on the wall beside him. "I propose a three prong attack, come at them from three directions to split their forces. All of the minor skirmishes we've had thus far have been nothing compared to what will be waiting for us tomorrow. There will be new mobile suits, and they will have these new-type extended pilots."

"I can't imagine this fight will last very long," Shinn said in a bored voice. The rest of the room held their breaths in anticipation for the inevitable outburst from Yzak.

Yzak's eyes narrowed and he balled his hand into fists at his side, shooting Shinn a look that could kill. "And I suppose you'll be able to take the base by yourself," he hissed through clenched teeth, Shinn shrugged in response. "How foolish of me to gather everyone here to formulate a strategy, when the great Shinn Asuka could just sweep away the enemy without trying."

"Pay no attention to him," Athrun interjected calmly. "He has a problem with taking orders from authority." Athrun and Shinn stared at each other with contempt, and then turned back to Yzak.

"Jule-taichou," a young woman piped up from the back. "Will you tell us how to position the mobile suit troops? Will my unit be with the Minerva II?"

"Hai, Lunamaria Hawke. Impulse will be stationed on the Minerva, along with Shinn Asuka and Destiny, and Shiho Hahnenfuss with Judgement." Yzak's eyes slid over his former crush with mild interest, instantly amused when he saw Dearka's hand in hers. Shaking his head, he continued, "I will be remaining on Eternal with Dearka Elsman, while Justice, Freedom, and Akatsuki will be assigned to the Archangel. We'll flank them, Archangel will be in the centre, the Eternal and Minerva will support from the sides."

"I'd feel better if I knew Serenity had my back for this battle," Dearka muttered, causing Yzak to scowl at him. The commander dismissed the people in the room, and left for his living quarters. Slumping down into the chair behind his desk, he put his face in his hands.

"Commander," one of the crewmen said quietly. He was a young boy named Alan, with shoulder-length black hair, and dark violet eyes. He handled the communications for the Eternal, and was a bright kid. "I have a message for you from headquarters."

"What is it?" Yzak sighed while rubbing his temples. Alan handed him a piece of paper, and retreated from the room at lightning speed, which worried Yzak. Flipping open the note, he scanned over its contents, his eyes widening in concern.

_Commander Yzak Jule,_

_I regret to inform you that while Serenity has arrived on the Millenius, her pilot has not. We've received no word from her, and have been unsuccessful in tracking her down. Unless you know where she is, we will have to report her as AWOL._

_Waiting for a response from you._

_Captain Basra_

"Well fuck," Yzak cursed, crumpling the letter in his hand. If he didn't cover for her, she would face jail time, and expulsion from the military. Leaning forward, he pressed a button on his screen, and waited for the face of Captain Basra to appear.

"Commander Jule," the raven-haired woman greeted. "I should have known I would receive a fast response from you." She smiled seductively, her sea-foam eyes twinkling.

"Ohayou gozaimasu, Azure. I felt the matter was urgent enough to receive an immediate response," he replied in a cool voice.

"Oh, but you would, wouldn't you Yzak? She is your precious jewel after all," Azure laughed teasingly. "Were my suspicions correct? Is she with you, or have you given her unscheduled time off?"

"I gave her a much needed vacation; I trust you'll see to it that Serenity is taken care of?" Yzak prayed she wouldn't detect he was lying.

"But of course, but I must ask," she said quietly. "Why did you choose to marry this one? I was under the impression you just slept with us. Had I known you were looking for love, I would have gladly stuck around." That seductive smile parted her lips again, and Yzak blushed as he recalled their last encounter in the janitorial closet on Aprilius.

"That's not really any of your business, is it Azure? She has my leave to take as much time as she needs, please see to it that the proper procedures are taken to store her mobile suit," Yzak snapped.

"Oh, still as feisty as ever. I miss our frequent romps around the council building," she winked slightly. "I hope your mission goes well, and I look forward to seeing you back on Aprilius once more."

"Right," Yzak muttered and ended the call. _Annora, where are you?_

* * *

Annora tapped her fingernails against the bathroom counter in apprehension, glancing at her watch every few seconds. It beeped after another minute, and she frantically snatched the small strip sitting beside the sink. "Oh god," she breathed, a hand instantly fluttering to her stomach. "No… no, no, no, this can't be happening." 

"Is everything alright in there, dear?" Romina's voice called through the bathroom door.

"Fine, I'm fine. Thank you Mrs Amarfi, I'll be out in a few seconds." Dropping the pregnancy test back into its box, she threw it in the trash bin and covered it with generous amounts of toilet paper. She leaned over the sink and washed her hands, staring at herself in the mirror. "Isn't that the way it always is? The woman is always the one who ends up hurt," she whispered with a mirthful laugh. "Pregnant with Yzak's child, what the hell am I going to do?" She pulled her hair back into a clip, and left the bathroom to join the Amarfi's for dinner.

"Are you alright?" Nicol murmured in her ear as he took her arm in his. She heaved a sigh and nodded her head, not wanting him to know just yet. He led her to her seat, and held it out for her as she sat herself at the table. Romina offered Annora a glass of wine, which she politely refused, making them all raise their eyebrows. Annie was known for being quite the lush, what could have brought about this sudden change?

"I'm so glad you came to visit us," Romina said happily.

"Yes, it's been far too long since we've all sat and had a good talk," Yuri agreed. "It was good luck that you ran into us at the shopping mall; we completely forgot to tell you we had moved to Martius."

"Yeah, I'm thankful you've offered me a place to stay. I wasn't sure what I was going to do here," she replied with a sad smile.

"Dear, I can't help but notice the absence of that stunning engagement ring. Tell me, did you and Yzak decide to call it off?" Romina asked with a hopeful tone. Nicol's eyes shot over to Annora, and he was sure he saw a tear escape one of her eyes.

"No," she whispered, wringing her napkin in her hands. "I didn't decide anything. He took the ring from me and left." Another tear slid down her cheek, Yuri and Romina shifted uncomfortably in their chairs.

"Cheer up Annie," Nicol comforted her, squeezing her hand. "Mother made her famous roast beef, let's dig in."

"Thank you," she mumbled. Annora's eyes closed as she willed the tears to go away, and took a deep breath. She had promised herself she wouldn't appear frail in front of Nicol, she needed to be strong; she needed to forget about Yzak. _Hard to do when you have a part of him growing inside of you_, she thought unhappily.

After dinner was finished, Nicol led Annora out to the balcony and seated himself on the bench. He looked out over the man-made ocean, and readied himself for the inevitable conversation that he knew would pain him to hear. "Tell me what happened, Annie."

"You know," she began, casting her eyes out at the fake sunset. "I thought he loved me. There were so many little hints over the past year and a half, so many subtle things he did for me. I think I fully realised that he cared for me when he entrusted Serenity to me. He showed me a side of him that I doubt anyone else had seen previously. He was gentle, he was kind, and he was caring." Her voice cracked slightly, and her tears from earlier started rolling down her cheeks.

"I believe you're right. That's a side of Yzak I have never seen," Nicol said, encouraging her to continue with a smile.

"He initiated the relationship, you know. I had pushed every other man away, but something about him intrigued me. He was a broken man, with a haunted past, and I wanted to show him what it meant to love." She stopped, waiting for the intense emotion she was feeling to numb before going on. "He kissed me, and Nicol you couldn't believe how it felt to have someone else pour so much emotion into a kiss again. He loved me; he told me so many times how much he cared for me. I had Athrun practically throwing himself at me, and I completely ignored him because Yzak was all I could see.

"At first I thought we were moving too fast with the engagement. I wasn't sure if I was ready to call myself Mrs Yzak Jule, it just seemed way too strange. But then he got hurt, and I was so afraid of losing him, so then it finally dawned on me. I loved him, and I was prepared to do what I had to preserve our relationship." She wiped a tear from her eye, and looked down to the railing of the balcony.

"Out of nowhere he said he didn't love me, and he never wanted to see me again. He asked for the ring back, so I threw it at him, and then I threw a lamp at him. I wanted to hurt him so bad, I wanted him to feel the pain, but he ducked and said something like, 'I have no use for foolish sentiments like love' and left me there to weep on the floor. And then he…" she sniffled lightly. "He had me transferred so I couldn't even talk to him. He's out in Alaska right now fighting Logos, and I don't even know if I'm going to see him again…"

"Annie," Nicol sighed. "I can't give you any insight as to what Yzak is thinking, but I can tell you from a male perspective that he was lying to you. I saw the way he looked at you, I saw how triumphant he was when you agreed to marry him, there's no way he didn't love you." Nicol placed his hand over Annora's on the railing, lightly running his fingertips along the back of her hand. "But what he did was foolish, and I would be hard-pressed to forgive something like that. You know that I will always be here for you, and I will always love you." He looked longingly into her eyes, running his other hand down her cheek to wipe away the tears.

"Nicol…" His touch was warm, and his eyes were full of love. She wanted so much to kiss him, but knew she didn't deserve it. Placing her hand on her stomach again, a new wave of tears flooded her eyes. "Nicol, I'm not ready for this."

"I've been waiting for you to return to me. I knew if I was patient, you would come back. I know you love me, Annie, and I know how badly Yzak has hurt you." He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, and licked the salty tears from his lips. "Let me in, let me take care of you, I love you more than you could imagine."

"I… um… I need a few minutes to myself, Nicol. I need to think," she replied quietly, taking a step back from him. Nicol nodded, and left the balcony to give her some space. Annora sighed as she rubbed her still-flat stomach, her thoughts lingering on Yzak's face. His light blue eyes, that soft silver hair, and the loving smile he had shown her so often. _I need to tell him._

* * *

"What is it?" Yzak snapped into his cell phone, annoyed by the intrusion. 

"Um… I'm sorry Yzak, maybe I shouldn't have called," Annora replied quietly.

"No! No…" he repeated more quietly. "I had to cover for you, you went gallivanting off to God knows where, and were going to face criminal charges for going AWOL. Where the fuck have you been?"

"I went to Martius, I'm saying with Nicol right now," she answered.

"Nicol…" That set Yzak's blood boiling, not even three days apart, and she had already run off to her former lover. "Well then why did you bother calling? Did you want to shove your rebound relationship into my face? Did you hope I would be jealous?"

"What? Yzak, no, that's not it at all. How can you still act like this when I've done nothing to deserve this?" He could hear her muffled sobbing over the phone, and he sighed.

"I thought I made myself clear when I said I didn't want to see you again." The terrifying nightmare came back full force, nearly knocking him out of his chair. The child, the child with his hair and her eyes, could it be true?

"Why don't you love me anymore?" she whispered. He closed his eyes, wanting so much to tell her how he felt.

"Stay on Martius," he said in a low tone.

"What? Why?" she asked, completely confused by Yzak's request.

"There are things we need to discuss, Annora, but now is not the time. I'm leaving; I have a combat operation to run. Stay safe, stay with Nicol. I'll call you when the time is right." He flipped the phone closed, but not before hearing her say she loved him. Yzak closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, he had pushed the woman he loved away from him, and told her to stay with another man. What a fool he was, he should have never listened to Isaiah.

"Ah, brother dearest," Isaiah's silky voice penetrated through the silence of the room. "That was your precious angel, was it not?"

"I have no time for your useless banter, Isaiah," Yzak growled.

"She's pregnant, isn't she?" Isaiah smirked at his twin's reaction. He of course had his brother's quarters and phones bugged for a while, and could hear every private conversation that went on. "Worry not, your dirty little secret is safe with me, but will it be safe with her? You've let her run back into her previous lovers' arms, do you honestly think she'll wait around for you with her knight in shining armour there to pick up the pieces of her broken life?"

"Fuck you," Yzak spat. "You told me to leave her so I could protect her, and she's not pregnant."

"Oh? I could have sworn Athrun commented on her having morning sickness this past week, I must have been mistaken. Either way, I never told you to leave her, I told you to separate yourself from her. You misinterpreted my words, and at your own peril. But alas, this is not why I've come to speak to you. You have an extra Gouf Ignited onboard; I would like to request the use of it. With your new unit, you won't be piloting the Gouf, and it would be such a shame to see a mobile suit go unused," he stated simply.

"Why?" Yzak sneered, not trusting his twin.

"I wish to fight with you, my dear sweet mistrusting brother. I've only just started getting to know you, I'd hate to see you get shot down," Isaiah smiled his disgustingly sincere smile.

"Fine, do what you want," Yzak sighed. "I hope you won't need to be told how to pilot one." Isaiah laughed in response, and left the room, leaving Yzak to brood once more. _Is she pregnant?_

* * *

A large green submarine dove underwater, escaping the battlefield. Kei readied himself in case the battle should head their way, the ZAFT forces were already pushing the frontline back. Taka and Ayumi stood next to him, all three watching in tense silence as the legendary Freedom and Justice came ever closer. 

"_Kei," Petrine called out._

"_Yes, my lady?" he replied, bowing low._

"_I'll need you to join me on the Centurion, you will not be fighting today," she said sternly._

"_Of course," Kei answered simply._

"What is that unit?" Taka's asked in wonder, pointing at the screen. A silver mobile suit rampaged through the air to their left, all three pilots watched in amazement.

"That is my brother, Yzak Jule," Isaiah's voice answered.

"Isaiah!" all three exclaimed.

"Did you miss me, my little ones?" He chuckled lightly over the radio. "I regret to inform you that I will not be joining you this day. I'm sure you were all confused when Petrine ordered you on to the only ship that would be retreating, but I'm here to explain this course of action to you. What is left at the base is a mere fraction of our forces, the main bulk of our army is in Hawaii, where you are headed to this instant."

"Why wouldn't you want to test us in this battle, Isaiah-sama?" Taka questioned.

"Your war is coming, my dear. However, this is not your battle, and losing any of you would be difficult to handle. Logos controls the allied Earth nations, we are simply too powerful to be removed with such ease. PLANT and ORB both believe that Dullindal dismantled our chain of command, and they're under the impression that this Alaska base is the only one," he replied.

"So, what you're saying is you're going to sacrifice the Alaska base, and make them believe they've destroyed Logos once and for all? Sugoi," Kei breathed.

"You were ever the sharp one, Kei. That is precisely it, we are going to lull them into a false sense of security, and strike them when they are completely unaware. I am returning to the Eternal to continue my mission, but do stay safe you three. I look forward to our reunion." The signal was lost, leaving them in silence once more.

"Kei-chan, Isaiah-sama is going to be okay, right?" Ayumi's eyes were brimming with tears. Kei placed a hand on his sister's head, and nodded reassuringly, then returned his attention to the silver mobile suit that was now entering the base. All three saluted as a series of explosions rocked their former home, commending the bravery of those who volunteered to fight.

* * *

"Yzak?" a voiced called out through his bathroom door. 

"Hai?" he answered, shutting off the shower and hastily wrapping a towel around his waist.

"I'm coming in," the woman said as the door slid open.

"Sh-Shiho?" Yzak stammered, his face flushing red with embarrassment. "Nani?"

"Dearka told me you haven't been yourself lately. The threat is over, so now I have time to talk to you," she replied nonchalantly.

"Don't you think it would be better to wait for me to get some clothes on before having some heartfelt nonsense talk with me?" he huffed.

"You're forgetting that I've seen you naked before, there's nothing on you that I haven't seen before," she waved her hand dismissively. "But whatever, if you're going to be a wuss, I'll turn around while you get dressed."

"Good," he sighed in relief as she turned her back to him, taking the opportunity to pull his boxers on. "So did you really come here to see if I was fine, or are there other motives?" He ran his towel through his hair, attempting to stop it from dripping. Yzak stood still as Shiho ran a finger down his still damp chest, and he swallowed hard.

"Must everything be about sex with you?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "I am merely concerned about an old friend, and was hoping you would open up to me about your problems. You've completely shut out Dearka, and he's supposed to be your best friend, ne? So tell me, what's up? Why did you break up with your dream girl?"

"I don't want to talk about this right now, and it's none of your business," he replied in a monotonous voice. "I'm fine; I'm always fine, so stop worrying about me." He shut his eyes and turned his face away from her, ashamed of the tears that were threatening to spill down his cheeks.

"You can't bottle everything inside, Yzak," Shiho whispered, touching Yzak's shoulder briefly. "At least talk to Dearka, he's waiting for you outside." With a shrug, she turned and left the bathroom.

"Kuso," Yzak cursed as he ran his fingers through his hair. Opening his eyes, he glanced at himself in the mirror, watching as the tears rolled down his face. _Call her, talk to her; you know she's with Nicol. _He narrowed his eyes at the thought of Nicol, jealousy burning deep within him. Yzak turned and stalked out of the bathroom, intent on calling her to explain.

"Yzak," Dearka said in greeting as Yzak emerged from the bathroom, making him jump slightly. "Shiho told you I'd be waiting, didn't she? The Logos base has fallen, so I thought now would be a good time to talk. We didn't really have much time before this, right?" He smiled at his friend, who flopped on to his bed.

"I guess not," Yzak muttered. "You don't honestly believe that the Logos threat is gone, do you?"

"Well, no," Dearka shrugged. "There was something wrong about yesterday's battle, it was too easy."

"Far too easy," he agreed. "There's something strange going on, something we don't know about yet."

"Leave the investigating to the governments, Yzak. Lacus has ordered our return to PLANT, and I think you should take some time off." Dearka ducked down as a pillow narrowly missed his head. "Don't think throwing things at me will shut me up, Yzak. I know you better than you know yourself, and you need to go get your woman back."

"You know nothing," Yzak growled. "What do you suggest I do? Waltz right into the Amarfi household and demand she see me? Iie, there's nothing I can do now. This was only a taste of what's coming anyway; the real war hasn't even begun."

"Yzak," Dearka sighed, "at least take the time off. You and I are due for a real guys' night out, and I know the perfect place to go." He chuckled at the look on Yzak's face, and turned to leave the room. "If you're serious about letting her go forever, then you need to say goodbye to her." The door closed, and Dearka was gone. Yzak turned over on to his side, uncertainty clouding his thoughts.

_Let her go… forever?_


	13. Fooled

Ohayou reader people, I trust you've all been well. Hopefully you've had some time to check out my newest artwork, and I'd like to thank RedAngel06 for suggesting I draw Yzak and Annora together. I've started work on it already, and I hope to have it up soon for all of you to see. This chapter had me stumped for a while, but as I was drifting off to sleep last night, it came to me. I hope you enjoy it; the creative juices are flowing once more. I apologise if the updates have seemed slow, but I've been a tad "busy." My boyfriend finally came and joined me in our new home; we were apart for a month and a half, so we've had some "catching up" to do.

Second update, I'm now all moved into my new house in Ontario. Aside from the obvious things that will keep me busy this month (painting, unpacking, job hunting, school), I'll be adding at the very least 3 new chapters. I was stuck in an RV for a week straight with my parents, boyfriend, and all of our pets making the long drive from Red Deer to Brampton in a vehicle that couldn't go past 80 km/h, and ran on propane. In that time, I was able to scribble out chapters in my sketchbook, since I had forgotten to bring my actual notebook with me. I'm beginning to type them up now, and will have them refined and good to go soon. I'm quite sorry for the lack of update, but hopefully I can make it up to you.

-------------

"Isaiah, you are one devil of a man," he smirked at himself in the mirror, admiring his new haircut and attire. His silvery white hair now fell to his chin, and his bangs cut straight across his forehead. The white ZAFT uniform fit him perfectly, and he ran his hands down the soft material, loving the feel of it. No longer was he distinguishable from his twin brother, the face that looked back at him in the mirror was Yzak Jule. Isaiah laughed in triumph, "Phase three shall commence."

-------------

The Amarfi household stood fifty feet from him, its marble columns shining in the artificial sunlight. His silver hair whipped around his face in the breeze, and he closed his eyes in an effort to summon the courage needed to exit his car, and walk into that house. Lightly resting his head on the steering wheel, he let out a long sigh as he adjusted the navy tie around his neck. He had dressed himself in his best suit in anticipation of the meeting with his beloved. Yzak wore a sleek grey suit jacket with matching pants, a light blue button-up shirt underneath, and a navy blue tie. Shiho had told him he looked "positively dashing," but that did little to appease the guilt and regret that had built up inside of him, and the fear of rejection.

Slipping the blue mirrored sunglasses on, he stepped out of his car and started toward the house. As he stepped on to the walkway, the front door swung open revealing Annora and Nicol walking hand in hand. Yzak quickly flattened himself against the nearest tree, shielding himself from view. He watched them from his hiding spot, anger threatening to overwhelm him at every touch Nicol gave her. _She looks so beautiful, and so happy,_ he thought.

Her hair was pulled back in a clip, and her ringlets bounced against her neck. The sleeveless light lavender sun dress she wore flowed elegantly over her curves, revealing too much and yet nothing at all. Her skin had a faint glow to it, and her green eyes sparkled with a secret happiness. She was the same woman he loved, and yet there was something profoundly different about her. Nicol's arm was draped protectively around her shoulders, his hazel eyes exuding the happiness he felt. He helped her into the limousine, and then slipped himself in next to her.

As the limousine drove away from the house, Yzak said quietly, "I love you, and I'm sorry." Shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants, he walked back to his car. He needed someone now, anyone to numb the pain. Starting the engine, he sped off to where his shuttle was docked, knowing precisely who he had to see.

-------------

Azure ran her fingers through her long raven locks, smiling with confidence at her make-up job. She looked lovely, and her little black dress showed off in all the right places. Yzak had phoned her not fifteen minutes ago to say he was dropping by, and he sounded quite upset about something. Taking advantage of him in his current state was an evil thing for her to do, and she knew that, but she had longed for his touch for many months. A knock on her door made her smile brighten, and she called out, "Come in."

Yzak stepped through the doorway, and gave her a rough greeting. He slipped his jacket off and hung it on a hook, then slumped down on Azure's sofa. She sat next to him, placing a hand on his knee she asked why he had come. Yzak took a deep breath, and replied, "I came for the usual, Azure." He could have sworn he saw something almost malicious flash in her eyes, but before he could investigate further, she was on top of him. His hands were pinned above his head, and her warm lips travelled over every inch of his neck.

"I knew you couldn't stay away from me for long," she whispered as her lips brushed against his ear. She squealed in delight when she felt goose bumps rise on his arms. Her hands released his to unbutton his shirt, and she ran her fingertips over his smooth chest. She looked back at his face, admiring the statuesque beauty of him. His silver hair was fanned out around his head, his light blue eyes were half-lidded in arousal, and his lips were parted in a small smile, revealing a few of his pearly teeth. "Your turn," Azure giggled, and Yzak flipped her over on to her back.

As he kissed and licked along her collarbone, he couldn't help but imagine this was Annora's warm body wriggling underneath him. He fumbled with the zipper to the black dress, and pulled it down her body, his breath catching in his throat as her pink lace undergarments were revealed. They were the very same as the ones he had taken off of his beloved so many times before, and he bit back the tears he knew were coming. The desire for Annora overwhelmed him, and he closed his eyes to better imagine her as he continued to roam Azure's body with his tongue.

Her soft skin, her sweet smell, Yzak smiled at the memories as he pushed himself into Azure. His imagination took over, and he opened his eyes; it was no longer Azure beneath him, it was Annora. She panted and moaned, her breasts bouncing in time with his thrusts. He knew that this wasn't who he wished it was, but he wanted to hold on to the illusion, he _needed_ to. "Annora," he gasped as he came, the body beneath him suddenly went rigid. Yzak's head snapped to the side as Azure's hand connected with his cheek, and she shoved him off of her.

"Do I look like your little tramp?" she seethed as she stalked out of the room. "Get out of my house."

"Gomen," he sighed, dressing himself and closing the door behind him.

-------------

"Lacus-gichou," Isaiah said with a polite bow.

"Ah, Yzak," Lacus smiled brightly. "I wasn't expecting you so soon, what can I do for you?"

"I was hoping you could go over the next plan of attack with me," he answered with a shrug. "I realise it's my vacation, but I can't sit around and do nothing. You should know that."

"Well, as of yet we've received no intelligence concerning Logos. It seems as though they've disappeared," she sighed. "But I'm not foolish enough to believe that. Cagalli has sent out recon teams, we're just waiting to hear from her now. You should really use this time to rest, Yzak. You've been through a lot of strife recently, and I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine, honestly. Thank you for your concern, however." Isaiah smiled at Lacus, pleased with how well he was fooling her. "If you'll excuse me, I have some unfinished business to attend to." He bowed once more to her, and left her office. _Martius… I'm coming for you, my dear._

-------------

"Thank you so much for the wonderful day, Nicol," Annora hugged him to her. "It was just what I needed to get Yzak off of my mind."

"You know I'd do anything for you," Nicol replied with a sincere smile. His expression quickly changed when he saw Yzak walking towards them, and he quietly cursed under his breath. He'd just been able to get through to her, he was moments away from making her his again, and now here was Yzak. "His timing is impeccable," Nicol grunted.

"What? Whose?" Annora followed Nicol's gaze, and instantly dropped the bags she was carrying. Yzak stood in front of her, his smile wide, and his hand held out to her. "Yzak…" The pain of the past few weeks came back to her full force, and she doubled over clutching her stomach, and finally fell to the ground unconscious.

"Annie!" Nicol cried out, scooping her up into his arms. He shot Yzak a look of pure hatred. "How dare you come here after what you've done to her? You have no right to be here, leave."

"No right?" A sly smile crossed his face, and he shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. Perhaps she hasn't told you yet? I have every right to be here, because she's carrying my child." He laughed at the look of shock on Nicol's face. "Surely you know I'm right; there must have been warning signs."

"Signs…" They flashed through his mind all at once. Her refusal to drink alcohol, the guilt in her eyes every time she allowed Nicol to kiss her, and the way she constantly touched her stomach. "No… it can't be."

"But it is, and wishing it were otherwise isn't going to change it. Give her to me, she requires medical care now." He held his arms out, and Nicol gently handed her to him still very shocked and confused. Before he could say anything further, they were gone.

Isaiah smiled at the sleeping form of Annora, he hadn't expected it to be so easy to take her from Nicol. He had the last key now, the last thing he needed to remove the biggest threat from ZAFT, Yzak Jule. Flipping his phone open, he dialled Arian's number. "Mission accomplished, I'll be on the island shortly. The target is with me."

-------------

Yzak found himself outside of the Amarfi household once more, those marble columns rising up from the ground ominously. Summoning every bit of courage he could muster, he knocked on the large oak doors. One of them swung open, and Yzak came face to face with a grief-stricken Nicol.

"Why are you back here? Do you need her suitcase too?" Nicol seemed furious, and Yzak couldn't fathom why.

"Actually, I just came to talk to her. Can I?" he asked hopefully.

"What are you talking about? If you want to talk to her, then go, you're the one who has her." If looks could kill, Yzak would have exploded right then.

"I don't understand, what do you mean I have her? Isn't she staying here?" _Something's wrong_, his mind cried out.

"What?" Nicol replayed the events from yesterday in his head; Yzak had taken her away… hadn't he? "Oh fuck…"

"Nani?" Yzak asked, his confusion growing.

"She's gone. Oh my god, she's been taken, and in her condition," Nicol pressed his hand to his forehead and leaned against the doorframe.

"What condition? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Your brother, he knew she was pregnant. He took her from here, oh no…"

"Pregnant?" Yzak's eyes widened as the dream played out in his head again, it had been true, and now she was in danger. Rage exploded through his body with terrifying intensity, this had been Isaiah's plan all along, and he was always going to take her from him. "Fuck!" he screamed, tugging at his hair. "FUCK!" Yzak grabbed Nicol by the collar, "Why the fuck did you let him take her?"

Nicol's eyes narrowed in anger, and he threw Yzak's hand away from him. "Don't you _dare_ blame this on me, you son of a bitch. If you hadn't seduced her in the first place, none of this would have happened. Where the hell were you when she was crying? Where were you when she wanted to die? Why did I have to pick up the pieces of her broken heart?" Nicol's fist connected with Yzak's jaw, making the silver-haired man stagger backwards. "You don't deserve her!" Nicol spat.

"And you do?" Yzak growled. "If you had truly loved her, you would have mentioned her to us!" He leapt at the younger man, and they rolled on the ground, fists flying everywhere.

Dearka stepped out of his car, his jaw dropping as he saw the two grappling with each other on the ground. "Yamero!" he cried out, running towards them as fast as he could. "Yzak, Nicol, cut it out!" He lifted Yzak off of Nicol, throwing him to the ground behind him. "What the hell are you two doing?"

"That fucker let Isaiah take my woman and child!" Yzak huffed.

"Child? What child?" Dearka asked.

"Annie is pregnant with that ingrate's kid," Nicol hissed through clenched teeth. "He knocked her up, and then he left her."

"Fuck you," Yzak spat.

"Yzak, you need to calm down. So do you, Nicol. Fighting isn't going to solve anything, what you need to do is figure out where the hell she is. Let's be civil to each other, ne?" Dearka pleaded with the two who stared angrily at each other.

"He's right, Yzak. No matter how much I want to hurt you right now, Annie's safety comes first." Nicol sighed as he stood, then brushed off his pants. "Fighting amongst ourselves isn't going to get her back; we need to work as a team."

"I know that," Yzak grunted. "Dearka, call Athrun."

-------------

Athrun paced back and forth, his brow furrowed in worry. He was aboard the Eternal, along with Kira, Shinn, Yzak, Dearka, and surprisingly, Nicol. The news his former team mates brought with them did not bode well, Isaiah had taken Annora from the Amarfi household apparently disguised as Yzak. What else had the bastard done in that disguise?

"Gentlemen," Lacus addressed the room as she entered, immediately catching the attention of the mobile suit pilots. "I have just received word that a man who was presumed to be Yzak Jule had taken a transport to Earth, his destination is still unknown. It was confirmed that he was traveling with a female companion, however."

"We need to go after it!" Nicol exclaimed, leaping to his feet.

"Isaiah is cunning; I myself was fooled by his disguise. If he has taken young Miss O'Connor, then I fear our suspicions have been confirmed. The Logos threat was not eliminated, and is probably far larger and better equipped than we had originally anticipated. Their motives for wanting her are a mystery, but now more than ever we must exercise caution." Lacus raised her hand to silence the outburst she knew would come from Yzak. "I understand how important she was to many of you, and I feel terrible about her plight, but we cannot spare the forces for a full-scale search. The security of PLANT and ORB are at stake right now."

"But Lacus," Athrun started.

"That's not to say we can't allow one ship and a few mobile suits to go after her, of course. Kira Yamato will be assuming command of Eternal, while the former le Creuset team reassembled will set out for a search and rescue mission." She smiled as she shared a look with Yzak, seeing hope in his eyes. "Nicol Amarfi, please come with me." She and Nicol left the room, leaving the rest to stand there in confusion.

"Nicol, do you know why I've asked you to follow me?" she asked simply.

"No, no I don't Chairwoman. Why?" he replied.

"Please, just call me Lacus; I've never been comfortable with being called anything but." A smile lit up her face, and Nicol returned it with a grin of his own. "You were an exceptional mobile suit pilot in your youth, and the Blitz was a machine that even I was impressed with."

"Thank you, I do miss it sometimes," he shrugged.

"I thought that you might, it is only natural for humans to want to do what we feel most comfortable doing. You were a highly trained soldier of ZAFT, and your kind heart is what dictated your actions in war. I never got a chance to thank you for saving Athrun back then, it was your actions that brought about a change in both Kira and Athrun. You and Tolle Koenig, and the countless other lives that were lost in that senseless war were what brought it to an end."

"But history repeated itself, another war erupted. I would have given my life for any of my friends, Yzak included, but the fighting and suffering all seemed for naught when the second war broke out," Nicol sighed.

"You are a most intriguing man, Nicol. Wise beyond your years with a good intuition, this is why I've asked you to follow me today." She led him into the hangar of the ship, passing the various mobile suits that stood along the dock. "Your sharp intellect and gentle soul make you an ideal soldier for the Clyne faction, but I would never ask you to do anything you didn't want to." They stopped before a large obstruction that was covered in canvas, and Lacus pulled a rope. The canvas fell away, revealing a mobile suit.

"This is…"

"ZGMF-X30A Blitz, equipped with N-Jammer Cancellers, and the mirage colloid of the original GAT Blitz. I had this unit made especially for you after learning of your survival; I knew you would need its power again one day. That day has come; will you take up this new sword to save the world and the woman you love?" Lacus smiled at the look of awe on Nicol's face.

"Y-yes," he stammered. "Of course, thank you so much Lacus."

-------------

"This operation will be under Yzak's command, and I pray for Annora's safe return. Having said that, I'm sending you on the Vosgulov class submarine named St. Augustine," Lacus announced a small smirk on her lovely face. "I'm sure you'll all feel right at home."

"Vosgulov? You mean to tell me we'll be on the same ship where our team parted ways?" Dearka questioned.

"Yes, that's what she means. I suggest you boys rest up tonight, we're leaving in the morning," Yzak ordered. All four of them saluted to Lacus, and filed out of the room. As they neared their sleeping quarters, Nicol took a hold of Yzak's arm and stopped him in the corridor. "What do you want?" Yzak snapped.

"I wanted to apologise to you," Nicol replied steadily. "I was out of line earlier, and I'm sorry for placing the blame on you. Had I been in your position, I probably would have done the same thing. I'm also sorry for never telling you about her before, there were so many times that I wanted to. I just didn't think you'd understand, I didn't think you knew what it was like to be in love."

Yzak held Nicol's gaze for several minutes before speaking, "You would have been right. Still, I wish I had known about her, though I don't know if it would have changed anything in the end. More importantly, I wish _she_ had told me about _you_." He shrugged slightly, and started moving forward again.

"Can I ask about that new mobile suit you're piloting now? I saw it in the hangar; it's very… eh, shiny." Nicol chuckled nervously, and Yzak shot him a scowl.

"It's the ZGMF-X39B Quicksilver, Lacus gave it to me, and she said I would need its power. I guess she was right, ne?" He smiled sadly, and turned into his room, "Good night Nicol… and I'm sorry too."


	14. Agony

Here's the next chapter, enjoy.

* * *

Yzak rummaged through the luggage Nicol had brought with him, _her _luggage. Each time he came across a piece of clothing he had bought her, or a photo of them together, a new pain would shoot through his heart. Finally his trembling hands rested on the object of his desire, her diary. He took a deep breath as he opened the front cover; a picture of him smiling underneath a tree greeted him. The memory of that day filled him with warmth.

"_Commander Jule, wait a second!" she called out as they raced through the field of grass. "I'm wearing heels, slow down!"_

"_You're getting out of shape, Lieutenant," he chuckled, coming to a halt beneath a large oak tree. "How am I supposed to train you as a recruit if you can't even run through a field?" Yzak folded his arms across his chest, and leaned against the trunk of the tree._

"_I'm a mobile suit pilot, not a border collie. I don't think I'm going to need to run through any fields in battle." She rolled her eyes, and plopped herself onto the ground. "Besides, give me some good shoes and I could outrun you any day."_

"_Oh, is that so? You want to test that theory? Your sneakers are in the duffel bag," he exclaimed, pointing to the bag sitting next to him. A groan from Annora was his reply, and he laughed._

"_Hold that pose," she commanded, taking a small camera out of her pocket._

"_I don't enjoy having my picture taken," Yzak grunted._

"_So? Now smile for me, I want to show all of my friends back home proof."_

"_Proof of what?" he questioned._

"_Proof that I am indeed under the command of the legendary Yzak Jule, of course. What'd you think?" She smiled, making him smile in return, and snapped the picture._

A warm tear splashed onto his violently shaking hand, and he reluctantly turned the page.

_Today Yzak took me to one of the mobile suit factories, I wasn't sure why at first, but he showed me this magnificent unit called Serenity. I was completely dumbfounded when he said he was entrusting it to me, I'm a rookie pilot, is it really okay for me to take something like this? He gave me a custom pilot suit, its colours match those of the unit, and I can hardly believe my good luck. This sudden display of generosity from a man known for his vile temper makes me wonder though… Is he trying to win my heart? Well it doesn't matter; I can't fall in love with a soldier… not again.  
_

* * *

_It's the fourth anniversary of Nicol's death today, and I went to the cemetery as I always do, but I wasn't the only one there today. I was able to duck behind a tree before Dearka and Yzak saw me, I wasn't expecting them to be there. Maybe it was silly of me to hide, but what would they say if they knew about Nicol and me?_

_Dearka was the first to leave, but Yzak lingered for a while longer. I watched him from my hiding spot, he was crying. It's easy to forget that he has feelings too, and that he also lost friends in the war. He's not as cold-hearted as so many of my comrades from the academy said, he's human after all. I wish I had the courage to comfort him today, but I was terrified to reveal myself in such a vulnerable moment for him._

_What am I saying? I'm falling for my commander, I can't do this. He was one of Nicol's best friends, what would my parents have thought? I know what they would have said, I shouldn't be in ZAFT and I shouldn't be involving myself with soldiers. _

* * *

_I made love to Yzak this morning; I don't know why I surrendered myself to my desires. This will only end badly for both of us, especially if he ever finds out about Nicol. Am I a tramp? Is it wrong for me to love his friend? When Yzak holds me, it feels so right… but when he's gone, I can't help but feel dirty. The crew looks at me knowingly now, they all know about me and Yzak. Most of them seem to think it's some kind of joke, while others whistle and wink at me._

_It's okay for me to love Yzak, right? It's okay to let someone in after this long… _

* * *

_Nicol… he's alive, how can this be? After I had finally gotten over him, here he is now. When he kissed me, it sent shockwaves through my body. I can't really explain it properly, but it was exactly like that first kiss beside his piano so long ago. I wanted to lose myself in it, to melt in his arms and let him kiss away the sorrow of the past 5 years. I would have too, if I hadn't thought of Yzak then._

Yzak's jaw clenched as he read on, he knew this would be painful, but he needed to do it.

_The guilt was overwhelming, and it was coming from two different sides. I betrayed Nicol by being with Yzak, and I betrayed Yzak by admitting that I still love Nicol. What am I going to do? When I told Nicol about Yzak, the pain in his eyes was almost unbearable to look at. I love Yzak, I really do, but I loved Nicol first. This is so messed up; nothing ever goes right for me._

_Athrun, why are you doing this to me? You know better than anyone else how confused I am about this marriage, how dare you do this? You're supposed to be my best friend, why are you trying so hard to cross the line? What would have happened if Yzak had caught us? What would he have done if he saw your lips on my body? You fool; I can't be what you want me to be. I can't love you like you love me, I can't even figure out what I want for my future._

"Athrun?" Yzak whispered. "Why would he… Why?" His confusion quickly turned to anger, "Who else was she fooling around with behind my back?"

_I haven't written in here for a long while, but I'm afraid this may be my last entry. Yzak left me, he took my engagement ring and he left me to cry. I know I don't deserve his love, I've done so many stupid things without him knowing, but I've never hurt this much before. I was prepared to stay with him until the day I died, I finally figured it out. I love him, I love him so much, but I blew it. He had me transferred so he wouldn't have to look at me anymore, but I fled to Martius. I'm staying with the Amarfi's now, but I don't know how long I can keep this up._

_I'm pregnant with Yzak's child, and he's left me all alone. I'm scared; I don't know what I'm going to do. How can I bring a child into this world without a father? How can I have a baby when I can't even keep a relationship going? _

_No, I can't possibly give birth to this baby, and I can't keep on living without him. Nicol's been so supportive, and he loves me so much. It pains me that I will have to leave him and hurt him again, but I no longer deserve to live. I wonder if Yzak will even care when I'm gone._

Yzak closed the diary, tears sliding down his cheeks. She made mistakes, but she never deserved to be hurt to the point of contemplating suicide. He couldn't even contemplate the sheer terror she must have felt when she found out she was with child. "Our child…" he mused, letting himself imagine what kind of person he or she would be. Suddenly, it hit him like a ton of bricks, the realisation of Isaiah's plot. "He wants our child."

He leapt up, running full speed to the bridge.

* * *

The past few weeks (perhaps months?) had been nothing short of a blur to her, she was certain she was being drugged, but couldn't understand why or by whom. Every time she opened her eyes, a man in all white would stick a needle in her arm, but something was different about this time. She was alone in a cold and sterile room, completely unrestrained.

"Well, as if I'd be able to move anyway," she whispered hoarsely to herself. There we no clocks in the room, and no way for her to ascertain how long she had been asleep; except of course, her ever-expanding stomach. How far along was she? Her stomach had still been flat when she last saw Nicol. What had happened? Her brows came together in a serious effort to remember what occurred that day.

_Nicol and I went shopping; he bought me a new wardrobe. We went home and… _Blue eyes and silver hair flashed through her mind. _Yzak! He came for me, didn't he? _As if on cue, her door slid open and a young man entered.

"Good evening, Miss O'Connor," the silky voice greeted her. "I trust you're feeling better today?"

"Isaiah, where am I?" she croaked. Isaiah smiled sweetly and sat on the edge of her bed, his hand resting on her stomach. "Where's Yzak?"

"I suspect he's roaming the globe in search of this base, my dear. Since your disappearance three months ago, he's been frantically scampering across the planet." Something frightening crept into his eyes, and he grinned, sending chills through Annora's body. "But don't worry, you're safe here."

"You kidnapped me. It was you that day, you took me from Nicol." Her heart was thudding in her chest, every muscle in her body screaming for her to escape, but she was unable to move at all.

"How very perceptive, Annora. Shall I tell you why?" The tears welling in her eyes were the answer he sought, and he laughed. "You see, I had you all fooled quite well. Did anyone ever think to call Ezaria Jule and ask if she'd had twins? No, of course they didn't, or else you might have figured out that she never gave birth to me. Indeed, she knows nothing of my existence. I'm a glorious creation, the exact genetic duplicate of Commander Yzak Jule. A clone who has been perfected, I do not suffer the attacks like those who came before me, my telomeres are not short. Unlike my predecessors, I do not posses the hatred of mankind that they did."

"A clone of Yzak?" Annora's mind was racing, what was happening? "How do I fit into this?"

"Inside of you is something most precious, the combination of your blood and his will be sure to create superb specimens of genetic superiority. I wish to build on that, and that is why you're here. Your child will surpass the intellectual prowess of even Kira Yamato; she will be a most incredible super soldier. I feared removing her from you would damage her, and so you will carry her to term here in this facility. When she is born, you will be disposed of," he finished coldly.

"Disposed of? You mean to tell me that you're going to murder me when my baby is born?" Tears of anger spilled down her cheeks, and she was shaking furiously. "You're going to take my child from me, and my life? You're a sick bastard. Life is not something you can toy with, especially not mine."

"Don't think to force one of your famous guilt trips on me, woman. I'm not attached to your world, I feel nothing for you, and as such your death is little of consequence." He stood and brought his lips up to her ear. "I dare you to escape wench, I'd love to see you try. You will lay here on your back until the day you die, a fitting end for Yzak's whore."

* * *

The warm tropical winds of Hawaii blew through Yzak's silver strands, the sunlight bouncing off of each one. He surveyed the city before him, something gave him the feeling that he was close to Isaiah. Signalling to the rest of his team, they started piling into the military jeep. "She's here, I know she is. We need to find some kind of facility, something military, it should be somewhere to the north of us," he stated matter of factly.

"And you're basing this off of what?" Dearka questioned.

"I just… I feel it, okay? Now shut up and drive."

"Captain Ramius once told me that Mwu la Fllaga could sense when Commander le Creuset was nearby, maybe Yzak gets the same thing?" Athrun shrugged.

"Sounds like a load of bullshit to me, but whatever. North we go," Dearka sighed.

As the vehicle neared the outskirts of the city, paved roads gave way to dirt, and a large chain link fence blocked the way. Beyond, a large laboratory rose up ominously from the ground, framed by tropical foliage.

"Yzak, is his it?" Nicol asked hopefully.

"Yes, yes this is where she is. It has to be," he whispered.

"Are you certain? It's been 9 months since she went missing, you've been wrong before," Athrun added.

"I know Athrun, but I'm positively certain this is the place. I can _feel_ him; I can almost smell the bastard."

"Then we need to sneak in somehow," Dearka said, hopping out of the jeep and loading his gun.

Nicol walked around the fence, surveying the forest around them. There was something beside one of the large trees, and he dropped to the ground, removing his pistol from its holster. "There's someone here," he mouthed to the others, who followed suit. He inched forward slightly, and Yzak flew past him to the person. A scream of pure anguish tore from Yzak's throat, making the other three jump in surprise.

A pale bruised and bloody woman lay before Yzak. Her fiery ringlets covered in mud, her green eyes staring lifelessly at the sky. He reached out to touch her face, and recoiled in horror at the feel of her cold dead skin. Dearka pulled his friend back from the corpse, Yzak's sobs now escalating in volume.

Nicol and Athrun knelt beside the body, both of them fighting the urge to cry and vomit at the same time. Nicol spoke first, "There's a scar on her abdomen, so her child was removed."

"And she was taken out to the firing range it looks like, multiple bullet holes. What a horrible way to die, I'm so sorry we weren't fast enough Annora," Athrun whispered forlornly.

"Annie!" Yzak screamed over and over, trying desperately to crawl away from Dearka's grasp. Nicol stepped away from her corpse, clutching an envelope he had found beside her. He handed it to Yzak, his eyes cast downward.

_My Beloved_

It was Annora's handwriting; he quickly tore open the envelope to reveal a three page letter inside.

_Yzak,_

_If you're reading this, it means you've found me, but too late. I am very sorry for leaving you only with this; I couldn't even give you our daughter. I want you to know now the extent of my love for you, as I owe you at least an explanation. I have behaved childishly, and I took your love for granted._

_First, I'd like to address the largest issue that came between us; Nicol. It's true, I was engaged to him what seems like a lifetime ago now. It was decided by our parents, who were good friends. Nicol was the first boy I ever kissed, and as such the first one I ever had feelings for. It was only natural that I loved him; he was the one I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with._

_When he left for war, I worried every waking moment about his well-being. I didn't know where he was, who he was with, all I knew was he had been given the red coat, which meant he was on the frontline somewhere. He wrote to me many times, and occasionally called, but he was always very cryptic about his military life. I'm not sure why he never told you of me, or why I never told you of him, but I am sorry it came between us._

_When Nicol died, I swore to myself I would never love again, especially not a soldier. Then my parents were slaughtered when the Requiem fired, and I knew I had to fight. I was angry to a frightening degree, and that is why I enrolled in the academy. I had long since learned of Nicol's history in the first war, and I was overjoyed when Chairwoman Clyne said you had chosen me for your team._

_I was confused when Nicol came back, as you well know. My mind and heart were in conflict, I didn't know what the right thing to do was. Before I could sort things out in my head, you had proposed to me, and I would never dare hurt you. It wasn't until I thought I was going to lose you that I realised it was you I wanted. It was you I loved. I wanted to be Mrs Yzak Jule, I wanted to bear your children, and clean your house, and live out the remainder of my years by your side._

_When you left me, I felt as though a part of me had died. I found out shortly after that I was pregnant with our daughter, and instead of the joy it should have brought me, I felt only fear. I tried to tell you that night, I called you so you would know you were going to be a father, but you dismissed me like I meant nothing to you._

_I realise now that your anger and apparent hatred for me were my fault, I did not appreciate you as much as I should have. I can only hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive me. I was selfish and wrong, but I love you with such intensity. Please find our daughter; please protect her from the world. Little Silvia looks so much like you, a spitting image of her beautiful father._

_Isaiah has her; he wants to make her a soldier. Do not allow him to warp our child; she deserves a chance at a real life, with a father._

_Whatever state you've found my body in, know that I died loving you. You are my heart and soul, Yzak. I will never be gone as long as you love me._

_Forever Yours,_

_Annora _

* * *

"Wake up Maria," Taka cooed softly. "The General wants to see you, wake up." She smiled in satisfaction as forest green eyes opened to stare at her. "Good girl, come on now, get out of bed. We need to do something about your hair before seeing Isaiah; he wants it to be a different colour."

"Who… who are you?" The young woman shook her head, red tresses falling into her eyes.

"I'm Taka, and your name is Maria. I know it's all very confusing right now, but it'll come back to you in a few days. Now, I've picked out a few different colours, so you'll have to help me pick one, ne?" Taka took the girl by the hand, dragging her into the bathroom.


	15. Twisted

Here's the next one, hope it entertains you!

* * *

Isaiah smiled in satisfaction at his new toy's appearance. Black hair fell straight down her back, the ringlets that were once present now gone without a trace. Her green eyes were clouded with confusion, and he knew she would cling to anyone who showed her kindness now. The name he had given her was that of the woman who had volunteered to take her place. Yes, his plan was working perfectly. No doubt Yzak had found the body by now, and that wonderful goodbye letter Annora had written.

"Maria," he called out to her. "Come, sit by me. We'll breakfast together." He smiled sweetly, and pat the cushion next to him.

"Umm… I'm not really hungry right now," she replied quietly. She absentmindedly placed a hand on her flat stomach, unable to understand why she suddenly felt so empty. "I… Where am I? What happened to me?"

"You're in Hawaii, my dear. As for what happened to you, you had a terrible accident in a mobile suit. We were all so frightened for you when Commander Jule shot you down. Now, you must be very hungry, please sit beside me and eat. I won't bite," he added smoothly, his smile never faltering. She hesitantly obeyed, seating herself next to the General.

"Why was I shot down?" she asked after taking a bite of toast.

"ZAFT, and subsequently its Commander, hate and fear us. They do not understand us Naturals, and they wish to eradicate us from the planet. There was a battle between the two forces, and ZAFT's Commander shot you out of the sky. You're lucky to be alive." Isaiah kept his smile sweet and sincere.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember this," she whispered. Isaiah took her hand and kissed it, then continued eating without a word. Something felt so wrong about all of this, but she couldn't figure out why. They kept calling her Maria, was that her name? She touched her straight hair, confused by the request to change it so suddenly. Who was it that had shot her down? Commander… Jule?

Isaiah watched her, amused by the different emotions displayed on her face. She was trying to remember, but she would never be able to. She was perfect; he could mould her and warp her any way he wanted. His smile turned into a malicious grin, and he bit down the laughter, not wanting to startle the poor girl.

He had never meant to keep her alive, but when the opportunity presented itself, he couldn't help himself. The idea of Yzak killing her with his own hands was too delectable to pass up. He had only wanted the child, such a beautiful little girl she was, but why stain his own hands with her mother's blood when her father could do it so much better?

* * *

Yzak lay quietly atop the cool grass beside his beloved's coffin, his tears no longer able to flow. Her funeral was today, but he had been unable to go to her wake, instead he lay alone beside her grave. His mind understood that she was dead, but his heart would not accept it. A small voice inside of him told him to not give up hope, she was alive. _How can she be alive? I touched her corpse with my own hands, she's dead._ Footsteps came toward him, but he couldn't be bothered to move, he needed to stay close to her right now. They stopped beside him, and strong hands lifted him off the ground; he came face to face with her brother-in-law, Jason.

"Put me back," he whispered weakly, and Jason's grip on him tightened.

"You killed her. You killed Annie, you son of a bitch," Jason hissed.

"Sweetie, please. Placing blame isn't going to bring her back, put the poor guy down," Angel said tiredly. Jason's piercing brown eyes stared into Yzak's dull blue ones, and then he threw him back to the ground.

"Gomen," Yzak choked out, a lump rising in his throat. His eyes swept over the remainder of Annora's family, all of them clearly out of tears to shed. His eyes finally came to rest on the youngest one, Kiara. His heart clenched painfully, Annora loved her niece so fiercely. Her large brown eyes locked with his, and something passed between them. It was as if she was telling Yzak it was okay, everything was okay. Did she believe Annora was alive too?

"Yzak," the young teenager whispered as she came close to him. "Don't cry anymore, Annie still loves you. She's somewhere else, and she still loves you." She put her small hand in his, and gave it a quick squeeze. As she took her place beside her parents again, Yzak opened his hand to reveal Annora's engagement ring. Bewildered, he stared at the young girl, unable to understand what just happened.

* * *

Dearka watched his best friend with growing concern, he hadn't taken Annora's death very well, and now it seemed he was going insane. He often found him wandering the corridors of the Eternal in the dead of night, whispering to himself, his eyes darting back and forth. Those eyes, they had once held such a fire for life, such emotion. Now they were a dull blue, almost grey in colour.

What he did when he was alone in his room was unknown, he'd taken to locking his door whenever he entered, and frequently changing the code to keep everyone out. He performed his duties as Commander, but only half-heartedly. It seemed as though he no longer cared if there was a threat, he was retreating further into himself with each passing day, and it worried Dearka.

There was only one thing left he could do…

"Chairwoman Clyne, thank you for taking my phone call," Dearka said gratefully.

"Nonsense Dearka, you know I'd always take a call from any of you boys. I'm sure you have a good reason for calling, though. What is it?" Lacus asked patiently.

"It's Yzak, there's something really wrong with him. And I don't mean physically, I mean mentally. There's something going on with him that I can't even begin to fathom. He doesn't eat, God knows if he sleeps, he wanders around talking to himself; he won't let any of us near him. I think…" He stopped, unsure whether to continue or not.

"You think…? You think he's insane? You think I need to take him off of detail?"

"Hai, that's exactly it. He needs professional help, and I hate to say this, but it's true. Maybe some time away from the military will help; he hasn't had any real time to grieve for… her. Maybe just a few months will help, he doesn't need to be institutionalized or anything, just rest." Dearka twisted the strap to his cell phone nervously.

"I see, and do the others feel the same?"

"Hai, we've all talked about it, I'm the one who thought of calling you though. Please Lacus, help him, and let him go home."

"Alright, I want you to personally bring him to Aprilius for a full psychiatric evaluation. He's lucky to have friends like you," she added sweetly, and then hung up. Dearka sighed, flipping his phone closed. He hadn't seen any emotional outbursts from Yzak lately, but would his old wrath come back when Dearka told him what he did? He shuddered at the thought. Slipping his phone back into his pocket, he left his room for Yzak's, fully ready to hack into it if need be.

To his surprise, Yzak's door was open, and the young man sat calmly at his desk, thumbing through a novel. Dearka cleared his throat in an attempt to catch his friend's attention, but to no avail. He stepped closer, and cleared his throat again.

"I can hear you, Dearka, and I'm well aware that you're standing in my room. What is it you want?" Yzak asked flatly.

"I… well, we think you need some time off, and Lacus wants you to go to Aprilius with me." Dearka watched his friend carefully, preparing himself for an outburst.

"Aprilius, ne? And why do I need to go there? Do my dear friends think I've gone insane?" Yzak put the book down and stared at Dearka coldly. "Do you think I need a psychiatrist to talk to? No, Dearka, I will not go to Aprilius to be humiliated." He stood up, resting his hands on the edge of his desk. "And furthermore, I am insulted that you of all people would think I had lost it. I'm fine, I'm always fine, you most of all should know that."

"But Yzak, you're not well. You haven't been yourself since… Well, you know when, and I've seen you talking to yourself. Do those seem like the actions of a sane man?" Dearka watched his friends face change from his calm passive expression to a mask of fury, his dull blue eyes glinting in the artificial light.

"You need to get out of here right now," Yzak warned in a low voice.

"No, this is what I want to see. I want you to get angry, I want you to be yourself again Yzak. She's dead, you're not. Get over it," Dearka shot back at his friend angrily.

"Anger, is that what you want to see? You stand there and berate me like a child, and for what? My future was taken from me, my fiancée murdered, my child kidnapped. You can't even begin to imagine what I'm feeling right now, but you come in here telling me I'm fucking insane. Telling me that I can't run this ship, telling me that she's dead! Well fuck you and the horse you rode in on, Dearka. _I know_ she's dead, is you telling me over and over going to somehow make it better? Get the fuck out of my room before this outburst you so craved escalates into something worse." Yzak glared at Dearka, his now bright blue eyes sending a thousand invisible daggers his way.

"Gomen Yzak, but I needed to know that my friend was still in there." Dearka gave him a weak smile, and left the room.

Yzak crumpled to the floor, shaking all over. He had just admitted aloud that Annora was gone; somehow in that instant all hope had disappeared. He fumbled around in his shirt before finding what he desired, and clutched it to his heart. The white gold engagement ring he had bought for her now hung around his neck on a silver chain; the one Kiara had mysteriously acquired to give to him. He closed his eyes, the sorrow washing over him until… Until the sorrow became hatred. His eyes shot open, and he came face to face with himself in the mirror. "I'm going to slaughter everyone in that base," he promised to himself.

* * *

Athrun had watched Yzak closely over the last few days; something was profoundly different about him. He was not the same angry Yzak, nor even the quiet brooding one. There was something almost terrifying about him, intensity in his eyes that spoke of the pure and unadulterated hatred held within. Athrun shivered, this wasn't his long-time comrade anymore, this was a blood thirsty beast out for revenge. As he ascended into Justice, he spared one last glance at Yzak and felt pity for the poor soul who crossed him.

"Athrun Zala, Justice, teru."

Yzak sat himself calmly in the cockpit of Quicksilver, and turned it on like he had done so many times before. This was their first assault in months, and he was going to make it count. Their target was the laboratory where they found her body. He smiled at the thought of destroying everything; he would most definitely slaughter every person in that facility.

"Yzak Jule, Quicksilver… Ikkimasu."

* * *

"Maria," Isaiah called out to her as she scrambled into her mobile suit. "If you should want revenge for your injuries and memory loss, the silver mobile suit is the one you want." He grinned as she nodded, and the cockpit of Serenity II closed. "Kei, Taka, Ayumi, leave Yzak Jule for her. I want you to focus on destroying the other mobile suits. Remember your training, you can beat them."

"Sir," Kei snapped a salute. "What if she should fail?"

"That's what I'm counting on, either way Yzak Jule will not be a threat today. Wipe this team out, sink that ship, and the strength of both ORB and PLANT is obliterated. Fight well today, I won't be joining you." He bowed gracefully to the three youths, and left the hangar briskly, bumping into Petrine in the hallway.

"Watch where you're going, fool," she hissed at him. "Some of us are actually going out on to the field, not hiding in an underground bunker."

"I'm important, Petrine. So is the child, every measure must be taken to assure she is safe. You know this, Caelum has told you many times," he replied nonchalantly. "Do your best out there."

"I'll do it better than you ever could," she spat at him. Picking her helmet up off the floor, she ran to the hangar.

* * *

Anger. Hatred. Yzak was no longer feeling any other emotion, his thoughts no longer coherent in any way. He wanted to inflict pain and suffering on all he came across. He rampaged through the sky like an angry beast, mobile suits falling around him, his target getting ever closer. The rest of the team pleaded with him to fall back, but he wasn't listening, he charged ever forward, his beams slicing through cockpits of enemy fighters. He failed to notice the five new units flying toward him, until the confused voice of Shinn cut through his thoughts.

"Isn't that Serenity?"

"Oh my God…" Athrun whispered.

"That is not Annora," Yzak hissed. "Isaiah is a sick bastard, stealing her unit and giving it to a natural. Leave that one to me, I will destroy it."

His blue eyes narrowed as he set his sights on the mobile suit he knew so well, his fury reached a terrifying new level. _How dare he use this mobile suit? Before this is over, I will stand over his dying form, smiling. _He fired one shot, grunting as Serenity dodged it. "Lay down and DIE!" he screamed, firing multiple shots while dodging those coming toward him. This pilot, he performed just like her, which only added insult to injury.

_He's toying with me,_ she thought angrily. _He wants this fight to last as long as possible before he kills me. Well, he'll find I'm not so easy to take down. _Serenity flew into melee range of Quicksilver, and slashed at it with its beam sword.

_I… taught her that. _Yzak frantically tried to open a channel with Serenity, but to no avail. "Is it you? Are you piloting that?" he asked in vain.

"Yzak," Kira called out. "We need to retreat for now, these mobile suits aren't like the rest. These pilots… they're not normal." When he didn't answer, Justice flew toward Quicksilver who was still engaged with Serenity. He watched in horror as Serenity's sword sliced open Yzak's cockpit. Firing one well-placed shot, Serenity's arm exploded, giving Kira time to escape with Yzak.

Eternity's signal flares shot into the sky, and they retreated, Freedom carrying a badly damaged Quicksilver.

* * *

Nicol watched Yzak in his unconscious state, worried for his old friend. He had suffered a head wound, and hadn't woken up at all since it had happened. Half of his face was covered in gauze, just like that time so many years ago when the Strike had defeated him. His chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, his eyes moving rapidly under his lids. Nicol wondered what he was dreaming about, and how he had been defeated so easily by that unit.

"How is he?" Dearka asked quietly.

"No change. It was a mistake to let him go out in a mobile suit today, you should have taken him to Aprilius," Nicol replied in a disappointed voice.

"And how exactly was I supposed to do that? You weren't there that day, he would have shot me if I hadn't left him alone. Plus, how the hell was I supposed to know he'd go haywire during battle and almost get himself killed? It's that damn Isaiah. Using Serenity against him, what kind of sick game is that?" Dearka's fist clenched at his side, and he took a deep breath. "Well, it doesn't matter, we're taking him to Aprilius now. At least he'll get some time off from this."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Nicol sighed as he stood up, briefly touching Yzak's limp hand. "Get better Yzak, we need you."


	16. Drugs, Sex, and Alcohol

Alright, I'm going to be completely honest with you guys. The lack of updates this past month and a half has been due to me reactivating my World of Warcraft account in anticipation of the upcoming expansion. I've been so busy with work, and then I come home and raid for 4 hours sleep, rinse and repeat. As you can imagine, it leaves little time for story writing, and more recently I've been playing around with The Sims 2 Pets (fun, by the way). However, yesterday evening I was hit with an overwhelming urge to make Annora and Yzak into Sims, which then reminded me that I left all of you hanging over a month ago now in regards to my story.

My raid finished early tonight, we wiped out Blackwing Lair in under 3 hours, and I have tomorrow off. Here's the next chapter, and I'll attempt to use my time more wisely from now on. Enjoy. Song used: Ill Nino - Everything is Beautiful

By the way, if anyone else here is a WoW player, feel free to whisper me in-game or send me an in-game mail on any of my 60s when I've been slacking off on the writing.

Annora – 60 Troll Priest (Uther)

Caela – 60 Gnome Warlock (Uther)

Manwyn – 60 Dwarf Rogue (Uther)

Hahaue – 60 Tauren Druid (Llane)

Shra – 60 Tauren Shaman (Moonrunner)

* * *

White walls. Cold. Sterile. It was a room he had learned to hate throughout his military career, because whenever he awoke in it, it meant he had been defeated on the battlefield. Sighing, he shifted in his bed uncomfortably; painfully aware of the damage she had done to him. Thankfully, the morphine did much to numb the physical pain, but that wasn't the only pain.

Yzak brought his hand up to his face, fumbling with the gauze that covered half of his face. He knew what he would find underneath, but he was resolved to wear the scar again until he finished this. One way or another. With trembling fingers he slowly unwound the wrapping, afraid of what he would see. He shivered as the cool air hit his wound, and cursed under his breath at the face that greeted him in the mirror. Yzak was nothing if not arrogant, and the long scar that once again ran down his face hurt his pride. Its mere presence marred his pristine beauty; however, he would not remove it until he had her again. Annora.

It was no longer a doubt in his mind, she was alive, and Isaiah was using her as a weapon against him now. _He probably believes himself to be the more intelligent of the two of us, but he has sorely underestimated me. _He narrowed his eyes at the thought of his "brother," every muscle in his body yearning to rip that twisted head of his from his shoulders. Yzak heaved a sigh, regardless of the truths he knew now, he would be ordered to rest for a month at a minimum. He could feel the multiple fractures through his body, and was well aware he would be in no shape to rescue or destroy anything for the next few weeks.

As he lay back down, he caught the whispers of Athrun and Kira outside of his door. He couldn't quite pick out what they were saying, but he knew they'd be barging in to bother him shortly. Propping himself up with pillows, he crossed his arms and planted a scowl on his face, ready for baka and baka number two.

As if on cue, the door slid open, and Athrun and Kira stepped inside, acting like they cared as if Yzak was awake or unconscious. The entire crew thought he was insane, and he really didn't want to deal with any of them for a good long while.

"Wow Yzak, you're awake! That's such good news, we were all so worried about you," Kira said cheerfully.

"Oh, shut the fuck up, will you? I'm in no mood for your usual happy bullshit." Yzak shot a dirty look at Athrun, who was barely managing to muffle his chuckles at the appalled expression on Kira's face. "What? Didn't think I'd be able to form a coherent sentence due to my insanity? You're pathetic."

"Hey now Yzak, Kira was just trying to be nice. No need to say such harsh things to him," Athrun interjected.

"Oh please. Did I offend your strict moral code, fiancée fucker?" Yzak couldn't help but smirk when Athrun's jaw dropped, and he chuckled lightly as his old enemy looked like he might flee in terror. "Did you honestly think I would never find out? Come on Athrun, that's a pretty big secret to keep from me, and you were horrible at hiding it."

"I... err… Gomen Yzak," Athrun stammered. Yzak dismissed it with a wave of his hand, and Athrun breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, anyways, we have good news for you."

"And that would be…?"

"We're docking at Aprilius One for the next three weeks, and you're going to be on vacation for two months," Kira offered with a wide smile. "Isn't that great?"

"Great?" Yzak's eye twitched. "Yes, that's fucking _fantastic_, Yamato. Never mind that my wife and child are being held hostage by a fucking psychotic genetic copy of me, now I'll have the time to do what I _really _want."

"Which is what?" Kira questioned.

"Nothing, you fucking dimwit. It's called sarcasm. Are you really this retarded, or do you just fake it to get into Lacus' pants?"

"And this coming from someone who still thinks that his girlfriend…" Kira started, but stopped as Athrun elbowed him none too gently in the ribs.

"Take the time to rest and get better, and when your injuries have fully healed, make an appeal to Lacus to be put back on detail," Athrun stated simply. "By the way, before we go, why are you leaving that scar there? Is this another one of those 'I hate (Random Mobile Suit) and therefore I will wear this scar until I win, because I'm a baby' things?"

"You know, you talk a lot of shit for someone who could easily pass for a woman when dressed for it," Yzak spat back at him.

"That's what I thought. Have a good vacation Yzak; we'll be waiting for you." Athrun pulled Kira out of the room with him, and the door closed once more, leaving Yzak in blessed silence.

"God, that felt good," he whispered to himself. He'd been treating everyone so civilly for the past year, now he could drop the façade and go back to being himself. He was uncertain of why he had acted to differently when he was with Annora, but he promised himself he wouldn't do that again. "Whoa now, slow down there Yzak. You don't have her back yet, don't be getting ahead of yourself here," he reminded himself. The first step on the long road to recovering his life was to convince his superiors that he was mentally stable enough to pilot and command.

"Attention, all crew may disembark now until further notice."

Yzak smiled, perhaps a few weeks off would be good for him after all.

* * *

Isaiah watched Silvia crawl around the floor of his office with mild interest. She was developing faster than he had anticipated, her reaction times were marvelous. The scientists had told him by the time she was 4 years old, she'd be mentally capable of piloting a mobile suit. He had beamed proudly then like a father. She had begun saying simple words, and in only a few short months! Fascinating little girl. She called him daddy, and seemed to get very confused when Annora – erm, Maria came by. This worried him.

Perhaps it would have been better to have her killed after all; he couldn't afford any maternal bond to be formed. He made sure she stayed away from Silvia, she couldn't touch her, talk to her, and she'd only had fleeting glances, but Silvia always acted... strangely with her around. His biggest fear right now was that touching Silvia would somehow jog Maria's memory, if that were to happen it would be devastating to the facility. He had underestimated her military training too many times, and he would not make that mistake again.

For now, though, his plan was working perfectly. She had defeated Yzak without breaking a sweat; no doubt the poor man had been confused by Serenity's appearance on the battlefield. He suspected Yzak had gone insane with grief after finding that body, and counted on that for the battle. It had panned out exactly as he predicted, he was no more than an annoyance now. Isaiah smiled, Yzak was removed from the picture as a threat, and Logos was one step closer to their total nuclear annihilation.

Annora, she was quite the perfect little toy. "It's time to play with her my way," he chuckled to himself. Standing, he barked orders to watch Silvia to the guard outside his door, and made way for Annora's room.

* * *

Maria sat quietly at her desk, a romance novel in her hand. She'd lost interest in it hours ago, but the thought of wandering the halls were loathsome to her. Every time the General looked at her, a strange feeling would develop in the pit of her stomach. She'd figured avoiding him was the best way to keep that from happening again. Sighing, she placed the novel on her desk and stood. There was something tugging at the corners of her mind, like she had to be somewhere, somewhere that wasn't here.

Her door opened, and Isaiah entered. She quickly snapped a salute, and braced herself for the strange feeling again. He smiled darkly at her, sending chills down her spine. "General Jule was there something you wanted?" she asked calmly, hiding her trembling hands behind her back.

"As a matter of fact," he whispered huskily as he walked towards her, "there is." Placing one hand on the back of her neck, and the other on the small of her back, he pulled her to him and placed a hard kiss on her lips.

Maria attempted futilely to break away from Isaiah's grasp, arousal and revulsion warring within her. "Please stop, sir. I don't want to do this," she gasped when his lips finally freed her. His smile widened, and he… cackled almost, she was sure of it. There was something horribly wrong about this, was he going to carry it any further? Her question was answered immediately by his lips on her neck; she could feel his sharp teeth pressing into the soft flesh. She whimpered, trying once more to push him away, but he was far too strong. "Help!" she cried out. A strong hand clamped tight over her mouth.

"Shh, my love. No one will come even if you do scream, and it dampens the mood. Stay quiet, and try to enjoy it. You were never a prudent girl before, why start now?" He breathed into her ear, and she fought the urge to vomit.

"Please… Isaiah…" _Athrun…_ "Don't do this…" _Yzak will catch us…_ The momentary flashback stunned her. Blue hair, emerald eyes, the smell of vanilla… _What the hell is this?_ She bit back tears as Isaiah slid her panties down her legs, and then pushed her up against the desk. His hands deftly unbuttoned her blouse, and he moved his tongue to her now exposed breasts. A small sob escaped her lips, which made Isaiah bite down on her breast angrily.

"Fine, we'll skip the foreplay if you despise it so," he hissed. Pulling his pants and boxers to the floor, he hoisted her up in his arms, her skirt pushed up to her hips. Carefully, he slid her down on to him, a low moan sounding from him as he entered her.

"Ah!" she cried out in pain, the unprepared for the violent thrust. He bounced her up and down his shaft, his moans growing in volume. She screwed her eyes shut, imagining it was someone else, anyone else. Even her imagination was cruel; she closed her eyes and only saw the same man. No, this was not the same horrible man, his face held kindness. His silver hair matted with sweat, his icy blue eyes full of passion, his lips mouthing something… "I love you," she whispered. From where this memory was conjured, she knew not, but she clung to it as Isaiah plunged himself deeper inside of her.

"Annora," he moaned as he released inside of her, panting while he sat her down on top of the desk. "I desperately needed that, and you were as good as I had imagined," he said, venom in his tone. "Now wash up, whore." He clothed himself and left her room briskly, while she curled into a ball on top of her desk, feeling as if he had just violated her soul.

Who was the man she had envisioned? Was it this monster after all? What name did he call out? Annora? "Is that my name?"

* * *

Three weeks had passed since Yzak arrived on Aprilius, and most of his injuries were now healed. He walked with a slight limp still, but he be damned if that was going to stop him from going out to have fun. He dressed himself in a smart but casual outfit, fitted khaki pants, and a silk blue button-up shirt. He and Dearka were going to have that boy's night out they'd been planning for three years, and he was pumped to get out.

"Oi Yzak, are you ready to go?" Dearka called out from the foyer.

"Hai hai, I'm coming, hold your god damned horses," Yzak shot back. Sliding his cell phone into it's holder on his belt, he headed for the front door, an anxious Dearka awaiting him.

"Jesus, you take longer to get ready than Lacus, and that's saying something," Dearka grumbled.

"I wouldn't even be coming with you if I wasn't allowed to get shit-faced, now shut up and drive," Yzak grunted as he slammed the car door shut.

"Whatever, I know you're going just to see the strippers, you don't drink."

"Watch me, I can drink you under a table," Yzak stated haughtily.

The rest of the drive was filled with playful banter, Dearka happy that he had his friend back finally, and Yzak happy he could drown out his thoughts with alcohol. He was staying with Lacus since his house was on Martius, and she refused to let him take any sort of drug that wasn't directly related to his injuries. She also kept no alcohol in the house, and he was bed-ridden until recently.

As they walked into the strip bar, Yzak was assaulted with a barrage of senses. It smelled like cheap cologne, beer, and cigarette smoke. There were three girls up on stage, and the song they were dancing to was something he hadn't heard before. It was some kind of heavy metal.

_We are not the same.  
I am not to blame.  
Cause you've rearranged the truth.  
You just suffocate.  
While I'll medicate.  
When I wipe the slate I'm done with you._

_Run for shelter.  
Dig for wealth but  
All the treasures live within you.  
Bless your maker.  
Take the stems.  
Surrender your arms to a tree._

_And I'm breaking away.  
From everything beautiful.  
And all I am.  
Is fading I'm restless.  
And lying awake.  
And nothing is obvious.  
And all I am.  
Is fading and wasting away.  
_

One of the girls, a cute brunette pointed at Yzak as she slid a leg around the pole.

_I am not afraid.  
Y salvando me. (and saving me)  
This mistake you made too soon.  
Y que vas hacer? (and what are you going to do)  
Quien te va creer? (Who's going to believe you?)  
Well you make this bed to lie for you._

_Its time to wake up.  
Contemplate but  
Something's missing non-existing.  
Corre tiempo (Time is running)  
Estas sufriendo. (You suffer)  
Tu eres dueáa de todo (You're the boss of everything)_

_And I'm breaking away.  
From everything beautiful.  
And all I am.  
Is fading I'm restless.  
And lying awake.  
And nothing is obvious.  
And all I am.  
Is fading and wasting away.  
_

Dearka handed Yzak a glass of beer, which he gratefully accepted and took a swig of. He was almost hypnotized by the women's dancing in front of him. Something about the song was putting his restless mind to rest.

_Tu's lavios (Your lips) have taken  
Las palabras de dolor. (The words of pain)  
In your eyes._

_Que me quitan. (That takes from me)  
Lo que estoy pensando yo. (What I'm thinking of)_

_And I'm breaking away.  
From everything beautiful.  
And all I am.  
Is fading I'm restless.  
And lying awake.  
And nothing is obvious.  
And all I am.  
Is fading and wasting away._

_And I'm breaking away.  
From everything beautiful.  
And all I am.  
Is fading I'm restless.  
And lying awake.  
And nothing is obvious.  
And all I am.  
Is fading and wasting away._

"I liked that song," Yzak stated simply to Dearka, who just shook his head.

"I thought you were a Lacus fan, no Lacus fans listen to metal," Dearka chuckled, and Yzak punched him in the arm.

"Regardless, it was a good song, and those girls are hot. Go get me another drink. No, you know what? I'll get my own drink, you stay here." Yzak shuffled off to the bartender, leaving a bewildered friend at the table. He motioned to the man, "Give me a whiskey sour, and two shots of tequila." He thanked the bartender as the three glasses were set in front of him. He quickly downed the tequila shots, and started on the whiskey sour. Warmth was spreading through his body, and his cheeks felt flushed. He sat back down beside Dearka, and went back to watching what looked like three blurs of motion on the stage now.

"You should slow down Yzak; you're going to get one hell of a hangover in the morning. I'm not even finished my first beer yet," Dearka warned.

"Oh fuck you, I think I've deserved the chance to drink myself stupid, and there's nothing you can do about it." Yzak grinned at his companion, and gulped down another mouthful of his drink. A slight tingling sensation spread through his extremities, and he felt extremely giddy. He giggled maniacally at any joke that was told, and found it extremely difficult to walk in a straight line, or focus on anything around him.

A few hours later Dearka dragged a _very_ inebriated Yzak from the bar, and shoved him into the car. When they arrived back at Lacus' manor, Yzak was passed out, which left the task of carrying him to bed to Dearka. Sighing, he slung his friend over his shoulder, and made his way carefully into the house. "I swear to God Yzak," he huffed. "You've put on at least thirty more pounds since the last time I had to carry your drunken ass to bed." As they neared the top of the stairs, he came face to face with a very tired and very angry Lacus Clyne.

"Where the hell were you?" she asked furiously.

"I took Yzak out to bar…"

"And what possessed you to do this? You let him get drunk in his condition? How foolish are you, Dearka?"

"He's fine Lacus; he just needs to sleep it off, and to do that I need to get him to his bed. Therefore, if you would be so kind as to get out of our way…"

"I can't believe you, how irresponsible," she muttered as she shuffled back to her bedroom. Dearka shrugged, and carried Yzak the rest of the way to his room. He carefully placed his friend in bed, pulling the covers over him. Taking one last look at him, he left quietly.


	17. Reunited

Next chapter, yadda yadda. The Burning Crusade goes live on January 16th, so don't expect much from me over the next few weeks. I'll be quite engrossed with the WoW expansion. Nevertheless, enjoy this chapter, and I'll try to get the next one up ASAP.

* * *

His head was pounding; it felt as though a herd of elephants would burst forth from his skull at any moment. Groaning, Yzak rolled out of bed slowly, fumbling around his bedside table for his painkillers. He swore under his breath as he knocked a glass of water off the edge, wincing as it smashed on the hardwood floor. Finally, he gripped the bottle of painkillers and unscrewed the cap, shoving three pills into his mouth and swallowing hard.

His bloodshot eyes slid over to the digital clock on the wall, and he grimaced as the harsh green light hit his pupils. "5:30am," he whispered, wanting to laugh and cry at the same time. Instead of escaping his nightmares with alcohol, he intensified them, and now he had one hell of a hangover to deal with on top of that.

He slipped back into bed, wrapping himself in the elegant Egyptian cotton sheets and closed his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to sleep for the rest of eternity, but even the blessed release that sleep should be eluded him. When he did sleep, it was wrought with nightmares, terrifying visions of dead children and Annora's corpse mangled in different ways. What he needed now was a chemically induced coma; even his nightmares wouldn't be able to penetrate that fog.

He flung his arm over his eyes in an attempt to block out all light, and willed himself to sleep. After a while, his limbs grew heavy and sluggish, and his breathing slowed, the painkillers were starting to kick in. He smiled slightly as sleep took hold of him once more, knowing he'd feel much better in a few hours.

* * *

"Lacus be reasonable, you can't just barge into his room this early in the morning," Dearka pleaded. "He's been through a lot, and his rough night is only going to make it worse. Let him sleep a while longer, for all our sakes."

"No," she replied simply, throwing her pink tresses over her shoulder. "His rough night is your fault, and you're going to have to deal with the consequences. You knew he had to see our therapist today, yet you took him out drinking in his vulnerable state. Your fault." She opened the door to Yzak's room slowly, peeking her head around the corner. Flustered, she quickly closed the door, mouth agape.

"Nani? Lacus?" Dearka asked.

"He's… not in there," she responded, still shocked.

"What do you mean he's not in there?" Dearka opened the door and walked inside, sure enough, Yzak was nowhere to be found. The bed was neatly made; his suitcase was gone, along with his ZAFT uniform that was draped over the chair just last night. It was almost as if no one had been in the room at all, but the shattered water glass on the floor said otherwise.

"I'm calling security," Lacus said as she flipped open her phone.

* * *

"Ohayou gozaimasu Jule-taichou," the young woman seated behind the receptionist desk greeted cheerfully.

"Ohayou," Yzak answered in a gruff tone. His head was still throbbing from the night before, but he was resolved to not let it hinder him in any way.

"Please take a seat, and Dr. Svetlana will be with you shortly." She smiled prettily at him, and he grinned in return. Despite her overly cheerful disposition, she was quite attractive. Obviously of Japanese descent, her exotic slanted eyes were a deep mahogany, and her pale face was framed by silky blue-black hair. He sat down gracefully, surveying the unremarkable waiting area with mild interest.

"Yzak Jule," a deep yet feminine voice called. He stood almost immediately, and turned to where the voice came from. A middle-aged woman stood patiently in the hallway, a file with Yzak's name in her arms. "Will you come with me, please?" Her thick Russian accent was something he wasn't used to, but he wouldn't call it unpleasant.

"Of course," he replied quietly, falling into line behind the psychiatrist. She led him into a spacious office, which was a bit too bright for his liking. He was suddenly very grateful for his sunglasses; he wasn't sure whether his head could take that light right now. She motioned for him to sit on the chaise lounge, while she sat herself in a large black leather chair.

"I trust your injuries are healing well?" she asked distractedly.

"Hai, quite well," he replied, shifting uncomfortably on the chaise lounge. _How the fuck do you sit in one of these things?_

"And that scar on your face, is there a reason you've refused to let it heal?" Her blue eyes stared directly into his own, making him shiver slightly.

"My reasons are my own, and it's something I'd rather not get into at the moment," he said evenly.

"Fair enough. Where should we begin? How about you tell me a bit about your past, start with your childhood." She smiled brightly at him, and pushed her glasses up with one finger.

"I suppose I have to, this meeting being military orders and all," Yzak sighed. "I was a spoiled child, my mother's been a high ranking official in the PLANT government as long as I can remember, and the Jule family name is a powerful one. I had everything I ever wanted, and more, so my childhood was happy. Is that all you want to know?"

"Yes and no, why don't we talk about your father?" Yzak winced slightly, and she knew she had touched a sensitive subject.

"There's nothing to talk about. He's dead and I never met him, end of story." The corner of Yzak's eye twitched as Dr. Svetlana scribbled something down on his file.

"So you have no idea who your father was, is that it?" she asked with interest.

"No, I know who he was, I know what he looked like, and I know that dwelling on my lack of father figure was a foolish thing to do. You'll find I'm not your average simpering sentimental fool, and if you're looking to get me to have a bought of emotional diarrhea, it's not going to happen. I grew up fatherless, my mother was never home, I was raised by the officers in the military academy. I am the embodiment of discipline. I live and breathe war, I make a living off of killing people, and teaching others how to kill as well as I can. I command troops, I eradicate threats to the coordinator's continued existence, and I do a damn good job of it."

"Is this why you had a mental breakdown when your fiancée was killed?"

"Excuse me?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

"You said it yourself, you're the embodiment of discipline. Clearly this would affect you deeply when all of your years of training and military discipline failed to save the woman you loved. How did it make you feel when you found her body? What emotion overwhelmed you when you looked at her corpse? Wrath? Ire? Longing? What was it, Yzak?"

"You test my patience, woman," Yzak spat the word out with as much venom as he could muster.

"I'm here to help you, and you need to talk to me for it to work. Now, answer my question," she replied calmly.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room for what seemed like hours. Finally, Yzak spoke, "Horror."

"Pardon?"

"It was horror that I felt, that's the only word to describe it. Put yourself in my position, imagine being mere minutes away from saving the only person you've ever cared for more than yourself, and then finding her lifeless body naked and ravaged on the ground. Just tossed out like yesterday's garbage. What would you feel? What would you do if that person you loved so much were also pregnant with your child? How would you feel knowing that you had turned your back on her in her most vulnerable moment? How could you live with yourself knowing that it was you who made her contemplate suicide? That is was your fault she had been taken, and your fault that you could not hold your own daughter?"

"I would feel great pain and remorse, regret even. Then you've accepted the fact that she is gone?" she queried, keeping her eyes level with his.

"Gone? No, she's very much alive my dear doctor. The body we found was not hers, and a DNA test will confirm this, yet no one will do this. Why? Are they afraid of having to apologise to me for treating me like psychopath? Annora is alive, and so is my daughter, and they're both being held captive by a clone of myself. Fantastic story, isn't it? I wouldn't believe it myself if it weren't for the simple fact that it's happening to me _right now_." He threw up his hands in frustration.

"You mentioned making her want to kill herself, what did you mean by this?"

Yzak heaved a sigh. "I was told my someone that she would be in danger if I stayed with her, and like a fool I believed what he said. I pretended I didn't love her anymore, broke off the engagement, and had her transferred to another ship."

"And how did this make you feel?"

"To be honest, awful. I spent the next few weeks beating myself up over it, and as if I couldn't make things worse… she called me to tell me that I was going to be a father, and what did I do? I insulted her, never giving her the chance to tell me."

A loud knock on the door interrupted him, and he half jumped off of the uncomfortable piece of furniture. The door swung open to reveal a surprised Lacus Clyne, and absolutely furious Ezaria Jule. "This interview is over," Ezaria hissed, taking Yzak's arm and dragging him out of the office.

"I'm terribly sorry about that Dr. Svetlana," Lacus said apologetically. "Yzak wasn't in his room this morning, and I called his mother looking for him. She's quite against therapy it seems."

"It's not a problem, the session was about over either way. I got what I needed." Dr. Svetlana smiled sincerely at the chairwoman.

"How is he, if I may ask?" Lacus asked in a serious tone.

"Judging from everything he's told me, along with his mannerisms and history, I'd say he's mentally stable. As stable as someone like Yzak Jule can get, at least. You can't kill people for a living without it having some nasty side-effects on your personality, his short temper is a result of this."

"And what of his belief that Annora O'Connor is alive?"

"I believe you need to exhume her, and have a DNA analysis run. He fiercely believes she is still alive, and it's not fair to him to dismiss it as insanity without doing the necessary tests."

"I see, thank you," Lacus nodded at the doctor, and left the room quietly.

* * *

"How could you agree to therapy, Yzak-chan?" Ezaria asked angrily.

"It's not like I had much of a choice, hahaue. Everyone thought I had lost my mind, it was a direct order from the chairwoman herself to submit myself a psychiatric evaluation. What was I supposed to do? Say no? My career was already in jeopardy as is, pissing off Lacus wasn't a smart move," Yzak grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.

"I can't believe she made you do that, no son of mine would ever need therapy. It's all of them that need mental help if they think you'd ever lose it. You're a military commander, even the death of a loved one wouldn't crack your discipline." She reached over and ruffled Yzak's hair. "I'm just glad I got you out of there before she started prying too much."

"You were a bit late, she was already asking about chichiue," Yzak sighed.

"And what did you tell her?" Ezaria questioned.

"Nothing, told her he was dead and I never met him. You know, _the truth_. Didn't stop me from wondering why you never talked about him, though. What the hell did he do to piss you off so badly?" He traced his finger through the fog on the car window, admiring the gloomy rain outside.

"He didn't do anything to piss me off, Yzak-chan. He passed away before you were born, and I saw no reason to talk about him if you'd never get to meet him, that's all." Ezaria shrugged slightly, turning into her driveway. "If you must know, though, he was a great man, a handsome man. When we met, I was fresh out of university, and he was the current chairman of PLANT. I was new to politics, he was the leader of our nation, and he offered to take me out to dinner to show me the ropes. We hit it off, got married, and you were conceived. He was assassinated by Blue Cosmos shortly thereafter, leaving me to bring up his child by myself."

Yzak thought he could see tears forming in the corners of his mother's eyes. "Did you love him?" he asked simply.

"Yes," she replied in a whisper. "I loved him very much, and I miss him still. He'd be so proud of you Yzak, so very proud."

"I have some news for you, hahaue." Yzak smiled sadly, his warm tears splashing on to his hands in his lap.

"What is it, handsome one?" Ezaria sniffled, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"Annora and I had a baby…" He tried desperately to hold himself together, but was fighting a losing battle.

"You had a baby? When?" she asked incredulously.

"A few months ago, we had a daughter. Annora named her Silvia."

"Nani?! Why didn't you tell me sooner? Where is she now?" Yzak winced at his mother's loud voice.

"Her and Annora are being held captive by Logos. I've been trying desperately to get them back, but this crap happened and I couldn't… You're a grandmother, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner." His composure crumpled, and he hid his face in his hands, ashamed of his sobbing.

Ezaria pulled her son into her arms and cradled him, smoothing his hair back with her hand and rocking him to and fro. "Go get my granddaughter and daughter-in-law back, Yzak-chan."

* * *

Annora wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to stave off the cold finger of dread that wormed through her body. She shivered as footsteps neared her quarters, she was almost certain it was Isaiah coming to rape her again. He'd made a habit of it since that first time; he violated her at least three times a week. Bruises covered her body from where he'd manhandled her, and it pained her to walk, a dull ache had settled in between her legs.

She almost screamed as her door opened, and she fled to her desk, crouching beneath it. She watched as the person paced back and forth in her quarters, her terror building as the feet stopped in front of her desk. "Annora?" a man called out. It sounded like Isaiah, and she curled into a ball, her despair finally flooding out of her.

He heard it at once, sobbing coming from under the desk. He immediately dropped to the floor, coming face to face with an extremely terrified young girl. Black hair pooled around her head, her face hidden in her thin, bruised arms. He reached out to her, touching her elbow briefly before she pulled back in fright. "I understand that you're scared right now, but I need you to tell me if you've seen a young woman. Can you help me?" He asked hopefully.

She lifted her head slowly, her sobs quieting. Her eyes locked with oh so familiar icy blue ones, ones full of an unspoken pain and kindness. She knew these eyes; they belonged to the phantom man of her dreams, the one who comforted her when she was in pain. "It's you," she whispered.

The man seemed startled, unable to believe what he saw before him. "Annora," he breathed, his hand gently touching her cheek. "Is that you? Are you real?"

She melted against his touch, its warmth and familiarity soothing away the months of pain and confusion. She didn't know who he was, or why he was here, but she knew that she would be safe now. "I've waited for you to come save me for so long. I didn't even know you existed." Her hand went out to touch his soft silver hair, and her sobbing began anew. He would take care of her; she was going to be okay.

"Don't you know who I am?" he asked quietly, pain evident in his voice.

"Yes, you're the man I see when I close my eyes," she smiled. "You're the man who takes away my pain when Isaiah is here. I can't believe you're real."

"My name is Yzak, Annie. Don't you remember me? Don't you remember who you are?" He searched her face, but he saw only pain and confusion in her eyes. He frowned, what had Isaiah done to her? Two weeks it took him to infiltrate this base, he should have guessed it wouldn't be the fairytale meeting like he had hoped for.

"I'm sorry, I don't really remember anything," she replied sadly. Was he angry with her? Would he leave her here?

"Take my hand, and try not to say anything. We're going to get Silvia and get out of here. Do you know where he's keeping her?"

"Who?"

"Silvia, our daughter." Yzak stared at her in astonishment; she couldn't even remember her child.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about. Is this some kind of sick joke? Hah hah, very funny Isaiah, I fell for your joke. Here, this is what you came for, wasn't it?" She started to strip off her clothes, and Yzak couldn't help but grimace at the multitude of bruises and welts that covered her pale flesh. Rage threatened to overcome him as he saw the full extent of her injuries; purple hand-shaped bruises covered her inner thighs.

"Stop," he ordered sharply. She froze in fear, and he instantly regretted sounding so forceful. "Put your clothes back on, please. I'm sorry he hurt you like this, and I promise you I will make everything better. Now focus, I need you to tell me where he's keeping our baby." He gently brushed the black hair out of her eyes, smiling at her.

"If it's the baby I think you're talking about, he keeps her in his own living quarters. I'm not allowed near there, so you'll have to go with out me." She buttoned her blouse slowly; lifting her chin to stare at Yzak, still wary that this was some kind of joke at her expense. She gently ran her finger along the scar on his face, making Yzak shiver. "Where did this come from?"

"I'll tell you later. If there's anything you need, pack it now, I'll be back in exactly five minutes. Be ready to run." He gave her one last look, and headed out of her room. Before long he stood before Isaiah's quarters, hatred rippled through every fiber of his being. He crouched down, slipping his knife out of its holster under his pant leg. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and entered the room.

It was a spacious room, and very well lit. Rich velvet drapes adorned the walls, while exotic Persian rugs covered the floor. A large black marble desk sat in the center of the room, currently unoccupied. Yzak spotted a finely crafted maple crib sitting in one corner of the room, a small form moving about in it. Yzak slowly crept towards it, his heart pounding in his throat. He stopped a few feet away; mustering the courage needed to look at his child. Holding his breath, he closed the space in one stride, gazing down at the small sleeping form of his daughter.

Her silver hair curled around her head, her long lashes moved slightly as she shifted in her sleep. Short chubby fingers held on to the leg of a stuffed bear, and a pink soother lay beside her head. A lump formed in Yzak's throat at the sight of her, she was beautiful, angelic even. He reached a trembling hand out, brushing his fingers across her soft downy hair. She seemed completely unharmed, and he breathed a sigh of relief at that. Carefully wrapping her in a blanket, he lifted her up and cradled her in his arms, amazed at how breathtaking she was.

He moved as quickly as he could out of the room, trying his best not to disturb the little girl in his arms. He quickly devised how best to get out of the facility with his family. His original plan had been to give Silvia to Annora, and they would escape in stolen mobile suits, but he was going to have to be the one to take Silvia. He opened the door to Annora's quarters, smiling happily as she came toward him.

"This," he said in a hushed whisper, "is our daughter, Silvia. You named her."

Annora stared in awe at the baby in Yzak's arms, "You mean I'm her mother?"

"Hai. Quickly now, no time to dawdle. We have to get out of here before Isaiah gets back from his meeting. I really don't want to put either of you in danger, so the sooner we leave, the better. Do you know where the hangar is?" He glanced anxiously down the hallway.

"Yes, yes I do. Just follow me," she replied, slipping a 9mm into the back of her pants. Yzak smiled at that, she still remembered how to defend herself if needed. The three of them slipped through corridor after corridor, until they finally stopped at the hangar bay doors. "Just through here, but there will be dock workers there, and possible the Three."

"Three? Three what?" he asked.

"Kei, Taka, and Ayumi, Isaiah's three ace pilots. They're almost always with their mobile suits, we'll have to be extra careful from here." She motioned for him to follow her, and she strode confidently to Serenity. Everything seemed all right so far, and she was able to climb into her cockpit without so much as a second glance. "You should get into my mobile suit with me, you won't be able to waltz around unnoticed, especially not with that baby in your arms. Hurry up."

Yzak hesitated for a moment, worrying for the safety of his daughter. Somewhere behind him, a siren went off alerting the entire base of intruders. "Shit," he cursed under his breath, and ran full speed for Serenity. Climbing in, he sat on the floor, shielding the baby who had now woken up with his body. "Go go go, let's get the fuck out of here. Now!"

Serenity's cockpit lit up, and Annora placed her hands on the controls. "Hold on to that kid, this is gonna be one hell of a ride."


	18. Flight of Hope

_Sirens? Why?_ Isaiah strode calmly down the hall, grabbing a young man by the shoulder as he sped past. "Would you care to inform me of the current circumstances?" His eyes flashed dangerously, and the subordinate swallowed hard.

"Sir, Serenity has escaped from the hangar." He really didn't want to be the one to reveal the rest of the story to the general, someone was going to die for this, and he'd really rather it weren't him.

"Is that it?" Isaiah asked icily.

"N-no, sir. It seems someone infiltrated the base, and escaped with _her_." The man trembled slightly under his general's withering gaze.

"Who was it, and why?"

"We've been going over the footage, and... Well, it was someone that looked like you, sir." He yelped in pain as Isaiah's hand crushed his shoulder.

"Where's Silvia?!" Isaiah shouted angrily.

"She was taken, sir!" the subordinate gasped out as Isaiah released his shattered shoulder. He fell to the floor, clutching his limp arm.

"Yzak," Isaiah growled, tearing down the hallway. "Launch the three _immediately_!" He screamed into his radio, they were his only hope now. He needed that child.

* * *

Yzak watched Annora closely as she piloted the mobile suit to the coordinates he'd given her. He'd never actually watched her pilot before, and he found it rather interesting to observe. She seemed to concentrate on everything at once, as opposed to what Yzak did, which was generally just focusing on just what was going on outside. Power levels, ammo, the various interfaces, he never paid attention to that crap. He smiled, she really was a prodigy. Even with her memory so damaged, she could still pilot Serenity as if it were second nature.

The small form in his arms shifted slightly, bringing his attention to the small child he held. His daughter, she was breath-taking. She had her mother's milky skin and brilliant emerald eyes, but she had his hair, his face. This beautiful child, he could hardly believe that she was his. Not long ago he'd believed his life was over, but to hold her in his arms now... He felt as though everything was going to be alright, his future was secure once more. He smiled down at his daughter, who smiled back at him and touched his face with her chubby hand.

"Daddy," she gurgled happily, and Yzak's eyes filled with tears. It was at that moment that he fully understood what it meant to be a father, and he felt a twinge of sadness for his own father who never had the opportunity to hold his child. He would remember this moment for the rest of his life, he was sure of it. What would his mother think of his daughter? He smiled at the thought of Ezaria's face when he showed up with his fiancée and daughter.

"Shit," Annora cursed under her breath.

"What? What is it?" Yzak asked immediately.

"Isaiah's sent them out after us," she replied, her eyes moving everywhere at once. "See? They're still a ways off, but they'll catch up. Their mobile suits are ridiculously fast. Argh, we're fucked if they catch up to us. If you have some kind of plan, now's the time to let me in on it, mister."

"God damnit, alright, hold on." Yzak stood as high as he could, his free hand punching at the buttons on the radio. "Zala, come in. This is Commander Jule, requesting immediate back-up." He repeated this several times on different frequencies, his heart sinking with each second that passed.

"They're right on our heels, fuck! Hold on to that kid and brace yourself, it could be a bumpy ride." The thrusters on Serenity kicked into full gear, throwing Yzak against the back of the cockpit as the unit shot forward at top speed. The three units in pursuit opened fire, and Annora engaged evasive manoeuvres, weaving and spinning this way and that. "We're lucky, it seems they're not aiming to kill us, we might have a chance of escaping yet," Annora called out over her shoulder.

"Yeah, lucky," Yzak muttered as the radio crackled.

"Yzak?" It was Kira's voice.

"Oh Jesus, Yamato, I never thought I'd be so happy to hear your voice. We need help badly, three units are chasing us, and Annora's barely managing to dodge their fire. I need all three of you to launch right now, that's an order!"

"Hai! Kira Yamato out."

Yzak slid to the floor, relief sweeping over him. If Annora could keep it up for a few more minutes, they'd be saved. As much as he hated to have to rely on Athrun, Kira, and Shinn, he was certainly glad that he'd told them to sit in their units on standby. No one was a match for those three, Isaiah's "three" were probably just sad genetic experiments, anyway.

* * *

"Kei, back it down a notch will you?" Taka suggested over the comm.

"I can't, if they get away..." _Isaiah's going to revoke our __rights,__ or worse. _Kei sighed. "Try to aim for non-vital points, we can't risk hurting the baby, but we can't risk losing sight of them either."

"Damn, three enemy suits incoming, 1500 meters and closing," Ayumi's voice interrupted.

"Hold on... Oh crap, it's them. Justice, Freedom, Destiny. What do we do, Kei? Fall back?" Taka asked anxiously.

"No, we do what we were trained to do. This is the fight we've been waiting for. Forget our quarry for now, get into formation and be ready for the battle of our lives." Kei gripped his controls in anticipation.

* * *

Sorry guys, the next chapter will be the final one, and will most definitely be a long one. Been super super busy the past year, lots of horrible stuff happening in the family and what have you. Things are finally settling down, so I'll attempt to finish up all of my ongoing fanfics, as well as publish my new one based on Mass Effect, so look forward to the end of this, and that new one as well. I hope 2007 has treated you all far better than it has me. 


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